czech metalworking industry - mpo · 2016. 9. 21. · prvnÍ brnĚnskÁ kovÁrna, s.r.o., veletrhy...
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1/2009
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C Z E C H M E TA L W O R K I N G I N D U S T R Y
Czech Metalworking Industry
Supplement of
Czech Business and Trade 01-02/2009
CONTENTS
Editorial 4
ANALYSIS
Metallurgy and Metalworking – Basis of Czech Industry 4
The Task of the Association of Foundries Is to Create
an Optimum Climate within the Branch 8
Steel is a Building Material with a Number of Advantages 9
LEGISLATION
Implementation of REACH Chemical Legislation
in Czech Metallurgy and Foundry Industry 10
EDUCATION
FMME Provides Comprehensive Education in the Branch 12
INVESTMENT
Investing in Metallurgy and Metalworking
– an Opportunity for the Automobile Industry 14
CZECH TOP
The World’s Largest Steel Company in the Czech Republic 16
ArcelorMittal Ostrava Places a New Type
of Crash Bars on the Market 18
Forging Line for India – Important Export Deal of ŽĎAS, a.s. 20
ENTERPRISE
Czech Plate Is Used for Building the World’s Largest Ships 22
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Original Solution of Reducing the Environmental
Impact of Foundries 24
Research of Metals, a Way to Higher Efficiency of Production 26
SURVEY
Poll of Successful Companies Operating
in the Metallurgy and Metalworking Sector 28
INFORMATION
Exhibitions and Fairs Concerned with Metallurgy
and Metalworking 30
Important Contacts 30
PRESENTATION ON COMPANIES: AKTIVIT, SPOL. S R.O.; FIRMCONSULT, SPOL. S R.O.; KOVONA SYSTEM, A.S.;
KOVOSREAL S.R.O.; LIEBEZEIT HYDRAULIK, S.R.O., MEVA A.S.; PÉROVNA ÚSTÍ N.L. S.R.O.; PKD, S.R.O.; POWER-CAST ORTMANN S.R.O.;
PRVNÍ BRNĚNSKÁ KOVÁRNA, S.R.O., VELETRHY BRNO, A.S.; Z - GROUP A.S.; ŽDB GROUP A.S.
MK ČR E 6379This magazine is published as a supplement to the economic bi-
monthly issued in English (Czech Business and Trade), German (Wirt-
schaft und Handel in der Tschechischen Republik), French (Industrie
et commerce tchèques), Spanish (Empresas y negocios en la República
Checa), and Russian (Чешская топговля и предпринимательство).
Managing Editor: Petr Kamenický
Editor: Ondřej Štrba
Graphic Design: Art director: Nina Nováková
Graphic Designers: Romana Holíčková, Jiří Hetfleisch
Production: Tamara Machotová, Anežka Zvěřinová
Address: PP Agency s.r.o., Myslíkova 25, 110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic, Phone: +420 221 406 623, 221 406 626
Fax: +420 224 930 016, E-mail: [email protected], www.ppagency.cz
www.mpo.cz/en/minister-and-ministry/ministry/default.html
Deadline: 23/11/2008
Attitudes expressed by the authors of articles in this magazine are
not necessarily consistent with the viewpoint of the Publisher.
© PP Agency, Company with the ISO 9001 certified quality manage-
ment system for publishing services
| 4
A N A LY S I S
Metallurgy and Metalworking – Basis of Czech Industry
Metallurgy and metalworking are the
cornerstones of Czech industry. With
its centuries-long tradition and high-
quality production, the Czech Repub-
lic is a much sought-after supplier of
metal sections, a large part of which
is exported. Plate turned out by our
rolling mills is used to build ships all
over the world, Czech turbines gener-
ate electricity in a number of foreign
power stations.
Readers will be drawn into the sub-
ject by an expert analysis prepared
by the Ministry of Industry and Trade,
which will cover all important aspects,
provide detailed statistics, give a view
of the future and will supply all infor-
mation needed to fully understand
the following texts.
In the current issue, readers will be
introduced to the most important
Czech companies operating in the
branch, including giants such as EVRAZ
VÍTKOVICE STEEL and ArcelorMittal.
In the section Research and Devel-
opment, readers will be acquainted
with the work of institutes concerned
with metal research and technological
innovations aimed at reducing the en-
vironmental burden of the branch.
Especially instructive are the branch
analyses of associations concerned
with metallurgy and metalworking,
which add interesting points to the
material resulting from their practical
work.
Ondřej Štrba
Martin Karfus, Ministry of Industry and Trade,
e-mail: [email protected], www.mpo.cz
Metallurgy is the basis for the follow-up
manufacturing sectors, especially con-
struction, engineering, and the automo-
bile industry. Metallurgy is marked for
its extreme capital intensiveness requir-
ing huge amounts of money for realis-
ing strategic marketing decisions. These
decisions predetermine the output for
many years ahead. Metallurgical and
steel production in the Czech Repub-
lic depends on the import of input raw
materials, especially iron ore, for the pro-
duction of pig iron, and on the import
of primary metals for further processing.
Metallurgy and metalworking are at the
same time the largest energy consumers
within the manufacturing industry. Fuel
and energy consumption in the sector
in units of measure is more than 24 GJ
per one tonne of the final production.
In recent years, the trend in basic metal
and metallur gical production worldwide
has been to switching from commod-
ity character supplies to products with
greater added value and to technologi-
cal partnerships. In the Czech Republic,
this trend can be observed especially in
relation to the automobile industry.
Way to Modern MetallurgyAt the end of the 1980s, ferrous metallurgy
on the territory of former Czechoslovakia
employed nearly 170 000 people; in 1988,
a record 15.8 million tonnes of steel was
made. As a result of investment aimed
at increasing the volume of production,
however, funds were lacking for the mod-
ernisation of manufacturing equipment
and technological and product restruc-
turing. Consequently, the technical and
economic standard of metallurgical pro-
duction as a whole began to fall behind.
In addition, investments made in environ-
mentally friendly equipment were inad-
equate. Nevertheless, several advanced
technological projects were realised (e.g.
continuous casting of steel, new rolling
mills, out-of-furnace metallurgy, produc-
tion of steel in oxygen converters, etc.); all
those steps led to higher productivity and
quality of production.
In the 1990s, the transformation pro-
cess in the metallurgical industry was
influenced by privatisation. The years
1991-1993 saw the disintegration of
the markets of the Council for Mutual
Ec onomic Assistance (CMEA), a rapid
decline in the production of a number
of sectors, price changes, liberalisation
of foreign trade, protectionist measures
applied by the EU, insolvency of en-
terprises, and the disintegration of the
Czechoslovak state, denationalisation of
enterprises and the emergence of new
juristic entities. The basic decision which
influenced the development and the
economy of metallurgical production
was the relationship between privati-
sation and restructuring, with a discus-
sion of the role of the state.
The shares of the state in the country’s
three largest metallurgical companies
(Nová huť Ostrava, a.s., Vítkovice, a.s. and
Třinecké železárny, a.s.) remained con-
centrated in the National Property Fund.
In later years, the companies found new
owners, who contributed significantly to
their restructuring. With the exception of
Třinecké železárny, the entry of foreign
owners in the remaining two companies
was combined with property and finan-
cial restructuring on the part of the state.
This was linked with the incorporation
of the companies in the Programme for
the Restructuring of the Czech steel in-
dustry. The Programme provided for the
concentration of production in more ef-
ficient units with the simultaneous phas-
ing out of obsolete inefficient units and
the modernisation and building of new
units aimed at improving technological
and economic standards of the sector
(improvement of secondary metallurgy,
construction of continuous casting facili-
ties, modernisation and construction of
new rolling mill lines).
The Programme was fulfilled, and in
recognition of this fact, in its 2007 final Ph
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C Z E C H M E TA L W O R K I N G I N D U S T R Y
report on the termination of the restruc-
turing of the Czech steel industry the Eu-
ropean Commission noted that the set
targets had been met and the required
competitiveness of the sector had been
achieved.
Accession of the Czech Republic to the EU Helped the SectorWhile metalworking is mainly the domain
of smaller companies with closer links to
engineering, 85% of metallurgical produc-
tion is concentrated in three dominant
companies – ArcelorMittal Ostrava a.s.,
Třinecké železárny, a.s. and EVRAZ VÍTKO-
VICE STEEL, a.s.
ArcelorMittal Ostrava, a.s., which is part
of the world’s largest steel group, and
EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL, a.s., whose owner
is offering the company further export
opportunities, for example easier access
to the Russian market, have joined the
worldwide ongoing consolidation process
in metallurgy as a way to maintaining
its competitiveness. Třinecké železárny,
too, has been for several years realising
successfully its strategic plan to add value
to its product range.
The Czech Republic’s entry to the EU
had a favourable effect on the ec onomic
situation of companies. For many of
them, the broadening of the market
meant an improvement, although it in-
volved the need to respect new customs
measures on the external border of the
EU. Mutual trade exchange, greater com-
petitiveness made possible by the better
quality of products, certification and the
coordi nation of regulations in the techni-
cal and commercial areas are processes
which have been going on successfully
for a number of years.
Metal Consumption Is GrowingApparent consumption of steel products
in the Czech Republic is following a nearly
continuously rising trend. As shown by
the chart, while since 1993 steel produc-
tion has been on the level of 6-7 million
tonnes, apparent consumption continues
to grow, with only minor exceptions in
1996 and 1999.
The Graph shows that the prices of
the main input materials have more
than doubled since 2003 and that this
trend is continuing. On the global scale,
the growth of prices was linked to the
Steel production and consumption in the Czech Republic (million tonnes)
Steel product consumption keeps growing
production
consumption
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50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
350%
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
A N A LY S I S
revival of steel production worldwide
and the investment boom in Southeast
Asia, in particular China. As a result, foun-
dries raised their demand for strategic
input materials, which manifested itself
most strongly in the growth of the prices
of scrap, coke, coal, and iron ore. Some
manufacturers projected this increase in
input prices in the prices of metallurgical
products, which was accepted by both
the final customers and the market. It can
be said unequivocally that the demand in
2003 and 2004 pushed the average prices
of strategic inputs and steel products ir-
reversibly to a higher price level.
Steel continues to be a quality mate-
rial, demanded both in production and in
practical use, where it has a great poten-
tial in ensuring sustainable development.
Important Changes – Environmental LegislationProduction processes in metallurgy are
very energy intensive and together with
the power industry may constitute a bur-
den for the environment, especially by
emitting pollutants into the air, water,
and soil. If, however, we compare the life
cycle of metals with the life cycles of other
products, we shall see that metals have
the lowest impact on the environment.
Metals – products of metallurgy – can
be continuously recycled without losing
their basic properties, and in those cases
energy consumption, in comparison with
primary production from ores, is much
lower. Recycling is a way of saving primary
raw materials and reducing the impact on
the environment.
The impact of metallurgical produc-
tion on the environment is controlled by
legislation, which is applied with varying
stringency in different parts of the world.
As regards Europe and energy efficiency,
Europe’s final energy consumption in the
production of basic metals remains un-
changed, or is even declining, despite the
continuing growth of the production of
metals in the past fifteen years. As regards
emissions, a considerable reduction has
been achieved in the emission of some of
the main air pollutants.
In the Czech Republic, the technological
equipment of enterprises in the branch
has undergone massive modernisation
and improvement in terms of its impact
on the environment. Simultaneously, spe-
cial attention has been paid to the con-
struction of equipment for the separation
and processing of pollutants and wastes
and the modernisation of existing facili-
ties. As a result, the equipment of metal-
lurgical plants meets the requirements of
both European and Czech environmental
legislation. Most enterprises are accred-
ited with ISO 1400 environmental man-
agement certificate and their manufactur-
ing equipment works in accordance with
what is known as integrated pollution
prevention and control.
In the case of CO2 emissions, as a result
of the introduction of the greenhouse
gas trading system, from 2008 enterprises
may not be able to meet their produc-
tion requirements because of the reduced
permitted volume of emissions in 2008-
2012; enterprises will have to purchase
permits which will cost them extra money
- in the order of dozens of euros per per-
mit (permit = 1 tonne of CO2). After 2012
even greater pressure is to be expected
for more massive reduction for individual
operators as a result of fixed EU targets to
reduce the emissions of that gas by 20-
30% by the year 2020 in comparison with
1990 and by 50-60% by the year 2050 in
comparison with 1990.
Metallurgical technologies capable of
reaching those targets are not known for
the time being and the issue is being tack-
led by researchers under EU programmes.
The potential realisation of the new tech-
nologies will be rather costly. In addi-
tion, new nitrogen oxide emission limits,
on the level of 40% of existing emission
limits, will be introduced in 2016. This will
require financially demanding de-nitri-
fication of metallurgical production and
especially the heating plants of metallur-
gical enterprises incinerating black coal.
Unless those measures are realised by
the end of 2015, the heating plants con-
cerned may be closed down and energy
would have to be purchased, which can
only be realised in the case of natural gas
and electricity. A number of other energy
sources (steam, condensed air, etc.) are
Total Czech export of metallurgical products in 2003 - 2007 /thousand tonnes
Product 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
World, total fl at products 995.0 949.3 1 112.8 1 238.5 1 307.5
galvanised sheet 2.5 7.3 9.6 15.2 18.7
long products 2 367.0 2 306.1 2 050.3 2 270.1 2 233.9
semi-fi nished products 247.2 253.1 246.6 324.2 588.3
tubes 502.0 532.0 541.3 585.2 626.5
other 458.4 486.2 513.8 577.3 585.2
total 4 569.6 4 526.8 4 464.9 5 005.3 5 341.5
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Input prices in the steel industry (Index – year 2000 = 100%)
Steam coal
Coking coal
Ferrous ores
Natural gas
Scrap
Electricity
7 |
C Z E C H M E TA L W O R K I N G I N D U S T R Y
proportion of products with higher use
value. This will require to continue creat-
ing product chains that will shorten the
way to the final user. Equally important
will be the practical application of results
achieved in research and development.
The steel industry constitutes the basis
for industrial growth. It is not aimed only
at quantitative growth, but also on values
and the future. In 1950, metallurgy began
to play a key role in the process of Euro-
pean integration, when it contributed
actively to common economic develop-
ment. It goes without saying that in the
latter half of the 20th century, steel was
one of the most important materials in
reconstruction and the rapid economic
development of Europe after the Second
World War. The European Coal and Steel
Community (ECSC), established in the
early 1950s, contributed significantly to
the development of the steel industry at
that time. ESCO, the predecessor of the
European Union, created the initial com-
mon market of European countries. The
main principles of that organisation were
ensuring the transparency of the market,
setting out competition rules, regulation
of competition and laying down acquisi-
tion rules. Other principles concerned
the social sphere, such as the training
and preparation of employees. At the
same time, the Community initiated the
establishment and operation of different
funds, the most important of which was
the Research and Development Fund. Its
other initiative was the establishment of
a new system of multinational common
research, which at that time was the most
important move on Europe’s way forward
for the past fifty years.
Still in the fi rst half of 2008 steel manu-
facturers enjoyed a seemingly never-end-
ing boom, with record profi ts. In summer
of that year, however, as a result of the
situation on the world fi nancial markets, the
fi rst worries appeared, which have turned
into the current reality. Owing to the cool-
ing down of the economy, they must re-
duce production to a certain degree.
The steel industry, however, is a typical
example of a cyclic branch, and foundries
are more or less prepared for the new
situation. The main reason why they are
reducing production is to prevent an un-
controlled volatility of prices.
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not even available in sufficient quantities.
Considering the situation in energy sup-
ply in the framework of the entire EU, it
must be in the interest of the metallurgi-
cal enterprises themselves to raise their
self-sufficiency in energy production for
their own consumption.
The Task for the Future Is Raising Quality and CompetitivenessFrom the point of view of the Czech Re-
public it can be said that the country’s
steel industry is faced with tasks leading
to greater competitiveness. These tasks
include especially the application of envi-
ronmental legislation and increasing the
Czech metalworking industry steadily on the way of quality improvement
| 8
A N A LY S I S
The Task of the Association of Foundries Is to Create an Optimum Climate within the Branch
Josef Hlavinka, Association of Foundries of the Czech Republic,
e-mail: [email protected], www.svazslevaren.cz
The Association of Foundries of the Czech
Republic (SSČR) is an organisation bringing
together foundries, pattern shops, project de-
signing and research organisations, as well as
trading organisations and apprentice training
centres, secondary schools, and universities
teaching foundry practice and science. The
foundry industry and the production of cast-
ings have a long tradition in the Czech Lands.
For decades, the industry bore comparison
with the highest European, and indeed world,
standards. After the change of the geopoli tical
situation in 1989 and the disintegration of the
markets, the Czech foundry industry had great
problems attracting new customers and fi nd-
ing outlets for its products. Now, the Czech
foundry product market is fully stabilised. Cur-
rent Czech year-on-year production amounts
to more than 540 000 tonnes of castings, about
110 000 tonnes of which are aluminium cast-
ings and the rest ferrous metal castings. Most
orders, estimated at more than 60% of total
domestic foundry output, come from neigh-
bouring Germany. In recent years, however,
an ever higher quantity of Czech castings have
found outlets in eastern countries, and the
Czech Republic has become an interesting
manufacturer of this type of foundry products,
not only for the Russian Federation. The de-
mand is especially for more complicated cast-
ings as regards shape and quality.
The Principal Customers Are Power Engineering and the Automobile IndustryThe leader of Czech industry is the automobile
industry. In this sector, the outlets for foundry
products are not only the car factories them-
selves, but also factories making machine tools,
forming machines, and other manufacturing
equipment, not to forget power engineering
plants. The production of nuclear, thermal, as
well as wind power in this country is based on
sections manufactured by Czech foundries.
One of the key roles in this respect is played
by good-quality foundry castings. Between
2005 and 2007, year-on-year foundry produc-
tion showed very high stability, which made it
possible for foundries to invest in new, modern
technologies. The expected result is even bet-
ter quality and a higher volume of production,
with the simultaneous reduced demand for
skilled labour. This is the only way of raising the
competitiveness of Czech foundries and main-
taining high quality, to which our customers
have become accustomed. The need for skilled
labour has prompted our Association to focus
more on education. We continuously train
foundry workers at all levels to raise their skills
and we re-qualify external employees sent to
us by agencies. We have prepared courses for
foreign workers holding a green card, who are
seeking employment in our foundries.
The Association Is Engaged in ResearchScience, research, and innovation are not alien
to our Association. Our members are involved
in various scientifi c and research projects in
the area of foundry practice. Examples of these
eff orts are new binder systems, polystyrene
pattern castings, etc. Projects leading to lower
energy intensiveness and a decreased environ-
mental burden are not alien to us, either.
SSČR is a member of the Confederation of
Industry of the Czech Republic, the European
Foundry Association (C.A.E.F.) and the Central
European Foundry Initiative (MEGI). It co-oper-
ates with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of
the Czech Republic, the Ministry for Regional
Development, and other government offi ces
and organisations. It has a collective contract
with the KOVO Trade Union. To support the
country’s economic policy, the Association of
Foundries of the Czech Republic maintains
and promotes international relations leading to
a better knowledge of the competitive environ-
ment, the promotion of Czech foundries and
pattern shops. It keeps its membership base
informed about the latest off ers of equipment
and raw materials and processes information
about the production of castings and patterns
in the Czech Republic and other countries.
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The foundry industry is a stable sector
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C Z E C H M E TA L W O R K I N G I N D U S T R Y
Steel is a Building Material with a Number of Advantages
Marek Janda, Czech Constructional Steelwork Association,
e-mail: [email protected], www.caok.cz
Today, when steel as a building material
must face keen competition and the great
popularity of iron concrete, especially on
the European market, it is worth pointing
out the advantages of steel structures in
construction. This applies in particular to the
Czech Republic, since in comparison with
other industrialised states, this country is
giving unequivocal preference to concrete
and iron concrete structures at the expense
of steel. This is true despite the fact that
very often steel structures have a number
of incontestable advantages of technical,
economic, aesthetic, and especially environ-
mental character.
Which are the most tangible advantages of
using steel in construction?
Steel provides essential advantages to
project designers, suppliers, as well as ar-
chitects and investors, in comparison with
iron concrete or concrete. Firstly, it is the
speed of construction, which, together
with transport and assembly costs, can add
signifi cantly to the shortening of the time
between the commencement of building
and the putting of the structure into oper-
ation and to reducing the cost of the whole
structure. This argument is often neglected,
leaving steel in the shadow of, for example,
concrete, which is given preference be-
cause of the price of the basic material and
the entire structure. For architects and the
supporting professions, an important con-
sideration is the ability of the steel structure
to overcome the considerable span lengths
of ceilings and roofs in relatively small di-
mension beams. Easier entry for cables and
other media is another argument speaking
in favour of steel.
Is steel an advantage in construction itself?
Does it infl uence the speed of construction?
A frequent necessity is the adjustment of
load-bearing structures during construc-
tion, in response to changed or raised re-
quirements of the building professions or
the client. Considering the extremely short
terms allowed for preparing the project
documentation of the whole structure, this
has become a regular practice. In addition,
technology changes are called for by pres-
sures for decreasing the price of the project
and its delivery and further requirements of
the building professions. Steel structures are
undeniably better prepared for these de-
mands than other materials.
How does steel stand in terms of safety?
What progress has been made in fi re
prevention?
For a number of years, great attention has
been paid to fi re resistance, which until recent-
ly, in addition to the low corrosion resistance
of steel structures, caused concern to builders.
Recent developments, however, indicate that
steel has not exhausted its innovation poten-
tial and that its properties can be further im-
proved and adjusted to the most demanding
requirements of designers by sophisticated
processes, such as forming, heat treatment,
and surface fi nishing. Where fi re resistance is
a priority, a favourite combination in the world
is steel and concrete – in the form of steel tube
columns with concrete fi lling.
Steel is a material naturally susceptible to
corrosion. Is it a great disadvantage?
One of the few weak points of standard
quality construction steels is their lower re-
sistance to all types of corrosion attacks. An
advanced steel industry, however, can solve
even this problem successfully, by sophis-
ticated surface refi nement on lines linking
up with the mill trains. These technologies,
using the most up-to-date lines, are con-
trolled by artifi cial intelligence pursuing
a programme of high-level corrosion resist-
ance combined with the decorative aspect
(choice of optimum colour or surface struc-
ture). The corrosion resistance of construc-
tion profi les has reached a level ensuring
corrosion resistance exceeding 100 years,
often the life of the building itself.
Information sources Bosch, P.: Steel structures in the best struc-tures of the year, Konstrukce magazine 1/2007, pp. 20-21; Sommer, B.: Steel – neglected material in Czech building industry, Steel Structu-res magazine 4/2001, pp. 46-48; Wald, F.: Gas temperature during fi re in a one-storey building, Konstrukce magazine, 2/2005; Sommer, B.: Product innovations in the steel industry for steel struc tures, Steel structures magazine 6/2001, pp. 52-54
ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES OF STEELThe advantages of steel in construction, both environmental and technical,
cannot be overlooked. Steel is basically a natural material (its material source
being iron ore). From the chemical point of view, iron is the fourth most widely
represented element in the earth’s crust and regardless of the fi nal product, it
does not have a harmful eff ect on the environment. In comparison with other
construction materials, its energy intensiveness is relatively low. For example in
the case of aluminium it is 160 kJ.kg-1, in the case of steel 20 kJ.kg-1, i.e. eight
times less. An especially strong argument in favour of steel in today’s world,
where environmental requirements are ever more stringent, is undeniably the
never-ending process of recycling. A large proportion of needless steel products,
which have been discarded or have come to the end of their service life, go back
to the steelworks in the form of a valuable secondary raw material.
| 1 0
L E G I S L AT I O N
Regulation No. 1907/2006 on registration,
evaluation, authorisation, and restriction
of chemicals (REACH) entered into force
on 1 June 2007 In the Czech Republic it
is being implemented in stages. Before
its implementation could start in the area
of metallurgy and foundry practice, it
was necessary to specify the names and
defi nitions used in the sector. The situa-
tion was complicated by the fact that the
REACH Implementation Projects (RIP) are
being issued and amended only gradu-
ally, and for some parts of the process they
have not been issued at all (e.g. Guidance
on information requirements and chemi-
cal safety assessment, Guidance on Global
Harmonised System). The same applies to
annex No. IV and V to the regulation list-
ing substances not coming under REACH,
which were last amended on 9 October
2008. This setback places high demands
on enterprises, which are required to im-
plement the REACH Regulation.
The last obstacle is that the deadlines
for the implementation of the separate
phases of REACH are fixed, although the
discussion on individual items has not
ended.
Steel Shapes Do Not Come under REACHAn important thing is that the classifi ca-
tion and identifi cation of materials being
sold and purchased must be uniform for all
metallurgical enterprises within the entire
European Union. To ensure this, a working
group was created on the supranational
level (Czech and Slovak enterprises),
which has prepared documents and pro-
posals for this purpose. Simultaneously,
the issue was tackled by representatives
of those enterprises and the metallurgi-
cal and foundry industry federation, who
worked in clusters attached to the Euro-
pean Confederation of Iron and Steel In-
dustries. We also co-operated with other
European associations, e.g. those operat-
ing in the chemical industry. Gradually,
separate metallurgical substances com-
ing under the REACH Regulation have
been identifi ed. In all, several hundred
substances have been evaluated, a part
of which was defi ned as products com-
ing under the Regulation. An important
thing was that steel shapes were defi ned
as objects not coming under the REACH
Regulation.
Implementation Proceeds According to PlanAs part of the implementation of the REACH
Regulation it was necessary to review the
safety lists of hazardous substances, which
metallurgical enterprises pass on to their
customers. There are several dozen of such
lists. We have fulfi lled the task and duly
met the deadline. The same was required
from suppliers of dangerous substances,
and updated safety lists are being handed
over to metallurgical enterprises.
By the end of November 2008, the pre-
registration of substances was completed.
In metallurgy, those substances include:
� coke-oven chemicals (e.g. raw benzol,
sulphur, ammonium sulphate),
� alloys as preparations (each element in the
alloy must be pre-registered separately),
� slag from high furnaces, oxygen con-
vertors, and arc furnaces if supplied as
products,
� sludges, dusts, and scales if sold as
products,
and many other items. In pre-registration,
the procedure is to preventively pre-regis-
ter substances, where it is not clear if the
substance concerned does or does not
come under REACH. Metallurgical product
market deliveries usually amount to quan-
tities of more than 100 t/year. This means
that they will have to be registered by 30
November 2010. Financial registration
charges plus costs involved in the prep-
aration of the dossier for currently known
substances in metallurgy will amount to
EUR 90-110 million and will have to be ex-
pended in the period from 2009 to 2010.
The Czech Republic has the Best Prerequisites to Introduce REACH in TimeAlthough the new chemical legislation
under the REACH regulation and its im-
plementation by metallurgical enterprises
involves considerable diffi culties and costs,
the Czech Republic has all basic prerequi-
sites for its successful application in place.
An important point to make, however,
is that both the European Union and the
Czech Republic should see to it that enter-
prises importing to the European Union
metallurgical products from alloys made
by manufacturers outside the EU be treat-
ed in the same way, without exception, as
manufacturing enterprises in the EU27.
�
Vladimír Toman, Hutnictví železa, a.s.,
e-mail: [email protected], www.hz.cz
Implementation of REACH Chemical Legislation in Czech Metallurgy and Foundry Industry
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E D U C AT I O N
FMME Provides Comprehensive Education in the BranchJaroslav Sojka, Faculty of Metallurgy and Material Engineering (FMME),
VŠB - Technical University of Ostrava, e-mail: [email protected], www.vsb.cz
The Faculty of Metallurgy and Material Engin-
eering is one of the seven faculties of VŠB - the
Technical University of Ostrava. At the faculty,
students acquire all knowledge needed for
work in metallurgy and foundry practice. The
continuously growing interest in metalworking
attracts ever more students to the faculty.
Study in Accordance with ECTSIn the 2004/2005 academic year, a system of
three-grade study courses was introduced at
the faculty. Studies for the Bachelor’s Degree at
FMME take three years and they are followed
by two years of Master courses. The best gradu-
ates of a Master’s Degree programme may car-
ry on their studies for a Doctor’s Degree, where
the standard courses take three years. At FMME,
a credit system is applied, which is compat-
ible with the European Credit Transfer System
(ECTS). This is important especially for students
wishing to attend courses in other countries.
Specialisation Programmes Are Applied Throughout the Entire Course of StudyIn all courses of study for the Bachelor’s Degree,
emphasis is placed on the students’ profound
knowledge of natural sciences, in particular
mathematics, chemistry, physics, and physical
chemistry, and on their theoretical knowledge
of the programmes and branches of study.
Programmes of study in the follow-up
courses for the Master’s Degree are designed
so as to link up closely with the Bachelor
courses. Here, too, a good balance is main-
tained between the scientifi c basis, the theo-
retical basis of the programme of study and
the application subjects.
Instruction Combines Theory with PracticeIn both grades of study, besides the require-
ment of a profound theoretical basis, empha-
sis is placed on the practical work of students,
and most subjects comprise experimental
projects. In addition, students may take part
in scientifi c and research work organised by
university departments already during their
studies. The most successful of them may rep-
resent the Faculty in competitions held both
in the Czech Republic and in other countries.
Also important are some of the Faculty’s spe-
cifi c activities. Students attending Art Foundry
courses create valuable works of art. As part
of the StudentCar project realised by FMME,
students may participate in the construction
of a sporting car prototype and become ac-
quainted with certain important technologies
used in its manufacture. Instruction in subjects
concerning metal forming comprises the
practical use of the Faculty’s Tandem labora-
tory rolling mill, which in 2001 was awarded
the “Engineering Academy of the CR Prize”.
Special Emphasis Is Placed on Co-operation with Foreign CountriesThe best FMME students, who at the same
time have a good knowledge of a foreign
language, can carry on a certain part of their
studies in another country. This opportunity is
used by several dozen FMME students every
year. On the other hand, the Faculty enrols for-
eign students to attend its courses on a reg-
ular basis, and it has agreements with several
universities on double diploma programmes.
These agreements make it possible for stu-
dents meeting certain conditions, who have
attended a part of their programme of study
in a foreign country, to obtain a diploma not
only from FMME, but also from the partner
university in the country concerned. For ex-
ample, Czech students study at universities
in Germany and Austria, as well as in France,
Finland, the USA, and Japan. Most of them are
universities with which the Faculty co-oper-
ates in the area of science and research.
An important feature is FMME’s co-operation
with universities in other countries and the
mutual exchange of their students in special-
ised excursions, practical work, and at confer-
ences, in the organisation of which FMME plays
an important role. Worth mentioning are, for
example, the INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ DAY
OF METALLURGY (in 2009 the event will be
held at FMME) and the third, originally a Czech-
Austrian, conference of students organised
with the support of AKTION foundation.
The Number of Students Is Steadily GrowingInterest in studying at FMME is continuously
increasing. The number of students currently
studying at the Faculty has exceeded 2 300,
of which nearly 300 are students in doctoral
courses. Altogether 450 students of the Fac-
ulty of Metallurgy and Material Engineering
were conferred Bachelor’s and Master’s De-
grees in the 2007/2008 academic year.
�
PROGRAMMES OF STUDY AT FMME IN COURSES FOR THE BACHELOR’S AND MASTER’S DEGREESMetallurgical Engineering
Material Engineering
Process Engineering
Economy and Management of Industrial Systems
PROGRAMMES OF STUDY AT FMME IN COURSES FOR THE DOCTOR’S DEGREEMetallurgy
Material Sciences and Engineering
Management of Industrial Systems
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I N V E S T M E N T
Investing in Metallurgy and Metalworking – an Opportunity for the Automobile Industry
Petra Hájková, CzechInvest, e-mail: [email protected]
www.czechinvest.org
Locating new metallurgical and metal-
working plants in Central Europe is rela-
tively problematic, as the entire region
is completely saturated by activities
of large companies. This explains why
since 1993 CzechInvest has not noted
much interest in this type of direct in-
vestments. Rather than attracting new
investors engaged in metallurgy and
metalworking, the Czech Republic has
had experience with the privatisation of
large state-owned enterprises and ac-
quisitions of large Czech metallurgical
companies.
The Czech Republic Is a Good Place for Locating Sophisticated InvestmentsInvestors in metallurgy will find it rela-
tively hard to locate their manufacturing
plants in any of this country’s industrial
parks. In new industrial parks, an ob stacle
for the location of large facilities will be,
for example, the high energy intensive-
ness of potential investment projects
and the impact of this kind of industrial
activity on the environment, which in the
final analysis might mean a significant
increase in investment costs of financing
the industrial park. An important aspect
in this case is the psychological barrier of
the owners of land, where the project is
to be located.
On the other hand, support in the
branches concerned is given to sophis-
ticated investments of companies that
will bring added value to the Czech Re-
public. Also supported are suppliers in
the branch, who can become important
partners to companies operating on the
Czech market, for example in the auto-
mobile industry and other engineering
sectors.
Important Suppliers on the Czech MarketAn example of such a supplier is the Mex-
ican foundry company Nemak, which has
been on the Czech market since the year
2000, when it announced its plan to build
a plant making aluminium components
for the automobile industry.
Another successful supplier in the
meta llurgy sector is MOTOR JIKOV Tlaková
slévárna, a.s. (pressure foundry), which in
2007 was awarded a prize in the Investor
of the Year competition. In the Subcon-
tractor of the Year – Contract of the Year
category it won a prize for its contract
with the company Briggs & Stratton.
Investment Support ProgrammesInvestors introducing new production
or enlarging their existing facilities in
the manufacturing industry in the Czech
Republic, provided their investments
amount to more than CZK 50 million,
may take advantage of investment in-
centives under the Investment Incen-
tives Act (No. 72/2000 Coll.), as amended,
which entered into force on 2 July 2007.
Under its provisions, investors may be
granted a complete income tax allow-
ance for five years (in the case of newly
established companies), or a partial in-
come tax allowance for up to five years
(in the case of expanding companies). In
addition, they may obtain material sup-
port to the amount of CZK 50 000 for the
creation of every one new workplace in
what are called “A” regions, i.e. regions
where unemployment exceeds 50% of
the country’s average unemployment
rate. Another kind of support available
to investors in “A” regions is material sup-
port for training and requalification. In-
vestors operating in selected areas may
obtain a financial bonus to the amount
of 35% of their training and requalifica-
tion costs.
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Amount of investments mediated by CzechInvest in diff erent sectors
shared services centres 1%
glass industry 1%
textile industry 2%
food industry 2%
engineering, metalworking 9%
rubber and plastics industry 5%
information technologies 1%
electronics and electrical engineering 12%
woodworking, pulp and paper industry,
printing 5%
production of vehicles 45%
chemical and pharmaceutical industry 6%
others 11%
The Czech Republic off ers support to investing in the branch
| 1 6
C Z E C H T O P
The World’s Largest Steel Company in the Czech Republic
Věra Breiová, ArcelorMittal Ostrava,
e-mail: [email protected], www.mittalsteelostrava.com
ArcelorMittal Ostrava is part of the world’s largest steel concern Arce-
lorMittal, which employs more than 320 000 people all over the world.
The company is the outcome of the merger of the world’s number one
steel manufacturer, Arcelor, with the world’s number two steel maker,
Mittal Steel. The group’s steelworks are to be found in 27 countries on
four continents – Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. In 2007, Arcelor-
Mittal’s consolidated revenues amounted to more than EUR seventy
billion. ArcelorMittal accounts for 10% of the world’s steel output. The
company is a leader in all big world markets. The group’s products are
exported to 187 countries, from New Zealand to areas around the
North Pole. In recent years, the group has been building a position for
itself, especially on the rapidly growing Chinese and Indian markets.
Most products go to the automobile industry, construction and the
manufacture of household appliances and packaging. 48% of steel is
made in Europe, 35% in America, and 17% in other countries, such as
Kazakhstan and South Africa.
In the Czech Republic, the company operates through four
companies. ArcelorMittal Ostrava will be introduced to you
in the following article, its three subsidiaries in the text here
below.
ArcelorMittal Frýdek-Místek belongs to the group of the largest Czech steel company,
ArcelorMittal Ostrava. The company closed the year 2007 with a profi t
of EUR 19 million (before tax), a 28% increase on a year-on-year basis.
Its profi t after tax was EUR 15 million. In all, the enterprise rolled out
and sold 143 000 tonnes of sheet (21 633 tonnes of electro sheet),
in comparison with 138 000 tonnes (15 100 tonnes of electro sheet)
one year before. The company currently employs 733 people.
ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Ostrava came into being on 1 May 2007, when division 15 – Pipe Manu-
facturing Plant (Rourovna) was spun off from its mother company
ArcelorMittal Ostrava. It specialises in the manufacture of seam-
less and spiral-welded tubes and tubular products. Its volume of
production is more than 300 000 tonnes of tubes annually. Since Ph
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The ArcelorMittal Concern has more than 320 000 employees all over the world
1 7 |
C Z E C H M E TA L W O R K I N G I N D U S T R Y
1957, the company has been entitled to mark its oil pipes with
the initials of the American Petroleum Institute, API. In the spin-
off process, the company took over all the employees of the Pipe
Manufacturing Division and some employees of ArcelorMittal
Ostrava. Now it has 1188 employees. In the eight months of 2007,
from its establishment on 1 May until the end of the year, the
company earned revenues amounting to EUR 173 million. Its
profit before and after tax was EUR 14 million and EUR 9 million,
respectively.
ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Karviná is a one-hundred-per-cent subsidiary company of the largest
Czech steel company ArcelorMittal Ostrava. In 2008, the former
Jäkl Karviná Company marked the 90th anniversary of its estab-
lishment. It is the largest Czech manufacturer of welded tubes
and profiles, and with its more than six hundred employees it
is one of the largest employers in the Karviná region. In the first
half of 2008, the company generated a profit of EUR 4.8 million.
Within the ArcelorMittal group, it belongs to the Tubular Prod-
ucts Division (Mechanical Group). For a number of years, it has
been manufacturing and supplying also precision drawn tubes
and calibrated tubes used in the automobile industry. The Karv-
iná-based company exports its products to 24 countries around
the world. Its largest customers are companies in Slovakia, Po-
land, and Germany.
�
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C Z E C H T O P
ArcelorMittal Ostrava Places a New Type of Crash Bars on the Market
Věra Breiová, ArcelorMittal Ostrava,
e-mail: [email protected],
www.mittalsteelostrava.com
ArcelorMittal Ostrava is the only Czech manufacturer of steel road
crash barriers and crash-barrier systems and the main supplier of
these products to the Czech and the Slovak markets. It also exports
these safety devices to Germany, Poland, France, and Spain. Next
year will mark the 40th anniversary of the fi rst crash barrier (at that
time marked NH4) leaving the works. The following are the replies of
Ms Věra Breiová, representative of ArcelorMittal Ostrava, to questions
concerning the new type of crash barriers.
What is the main advantage of the new type of crash barriers you
have presented? Where can your crash barriers be found?
The crash barriers from ArcelorMittal Ostrava are absolutely unparal-
leled in all their technical parameters in comparison with other such
safety devices. That is why they are used on 95% of Czech roads and
motorways. In addition, in recent years we have sold our crash bar riers
to a number of other countries, such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bos-
nia, Croatia, and even Iceland. Each year, ArcelorMittal Ostrava turns
out approximately 50 000 tonnes of crash barriers. Although now, af-
ter forty years of making these products, it manufactures a complete
range of all types of crash barriers, it is planning to develop new ones,
in response to the modernisation of the motorway and road network
in the CR. In developing new types, we co-operate both with the Road
and Motorway Management of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of
Transport, as well as with project design organisations.
Crash barriers must pass demanding tests. Which certifi cation authority
carries out the testing and what are its main requirements?
The testing of crash barriers is carried out under the supervision of the
Technical and Testing Institute for Construction Prague at the airport
near Pelhřimov. It consists of two separate bumps of cars against the
crash barrier. The fi rst bump is carried out by a Peugeot 205 weighing
900 kg and running at a speed of 100 km/hr. After the crash barrier
has been repaired, it is subjected to another bump, this time by a bus
weighing 13 000 kg and running at 70 km/hr. Both vehicles hit the crash
barrier at an angle of 200. For the test to be passed, the vehicle must not
get through the crash barrier and no longitudinal element of the crash
barrier may be disrupted during the test.
What proportion of the output does ArcelorMittal Ostrava account for?
The complete crash barrier safety system, except the joining mate-
rial, consists of sections, all of which are made by our company, the
same as the input material for those sections. Profi ling, pressing, and
most of the surface treatment by zinc coating is done in our Minihuť
pásová Division.
�
ARCELORMITTAL OSTRAVA A.S. is the largest metallurgical fi rm in the Czech Republic and belongs to the world’s lar-
gest steel group, ArcelorMittal. It makes more than 3 million tonnes of steel a year and
exports approximately 60% of its output to more than 80 countries the world over. It
employs 7 450 people, and together with its subsidiaries its workforce totals 10 300.
Its largest shareholders are MITTAL STEEL HOLDINGS A.G. (71.579% of shares), Havr-
ton Investment Ltd. (13.881% of shares), and the Ministry of Finance (10.969% of
shares). In the 2007 fi nancial year (ended on 28 February 2008) the company generated
a consolidated profi t of EUR 331 million after tax, with revenues amounting to EUR 2
billion. ArcelorMittal Ostrava is one of the largest tax payers in the Czech Republic.
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Road barriers from ArcelorMittal Ostrava line most Czech roads
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C Z E C H T O P
Forging Line for India – Important Export Deal of ŽĎAS, a.s.
Eva Losenická, ŽĎAS, a.s.,
e-mail: [email protected], www.zdas.cz
ŽĎAS, a.s., based in Žďár nad Sázavou,
started production more than 57 years
ago. It has 2 720 employees and the
volume of its output in 2007 was worth
approximately EUR 150 million. ŽĎAS
belongs to the Železiarne Podb rezová
Group, whose leader is the world-
renowned tube manufacturer ŽP a.s. Pod-
brezová, Slovak Republic. The core pro-
gramme of ŽĎAS joint stock company is
the manufacture of forming machines,
forging presses, scrap processing equip-
ment, and machinery for the processing
of rolled products, castings, forgings, in-
gots and tools, especially for the automo-
bile industry.
ŽĎAS Forging Set to IndiaIn June 2008, ŽĎAS Company handed
over to India’s Bharat Forge Limited (BFL)
based in Puna its integrated forging set
with a CKW 4 000 press. The equipment
was installed in the factory’s new hall.
The ceremony marking the putting into
operation of the new equipment, which
was attended by all BFL’s important cus-
tomers, was addressed by the compa-
ny’s managing director B. Kalyani and his
deputy G.K. Agarwal, who expressed their
appreciation and thanks to ŽĎAS for the
fulfilment of all its commitments and for
the delivery of the equipment ahead of
schedule.
ŽĎAS Uses the Most Up-to-Date Technologies Hammer forging is one of the most ad-
vanced methods employed in the manu-
facture of semi-finished products for all
sectors of heavy engineering. This technol-
ogy is used to make forgings in the shape of
rods and shafts, cubes, disks, rings, spheres,
slabs, and other complicated shapes ac-
cording to the customer’s special order.
Hammer forging presses are used mainly
to make single pieces and small series of
products.
The integrated set for hammer forging
consists of a forging press with hydraulic
drive and one or two forging manipula-
tors. Part of its electrical system is a pro-
grammable controller enabling both man-
ual and automatic control, including the
manipulator.
Attendance of the Set Is Very Easy and Highly Automated The forging press is controlled by a single
operator from the central control desk,
located in a noise-free, air-conditioned
cabin. The operator chooses the suitable
mode of control with regard to techno-
logical requirements. Automatic forging
with a ± 1 mm shape accuracy of forg-
ings, the equipment of the press with
technology and defect diagnostics and
automatic tool exchange have substan-
tially reduced the requirements for physi-
cal attendance. The result is better qual-
ity, strongly reduced material allowance,
and high productivity of labour.
�
QKK 35 hydraulic forging rail-borne manipulator from ŽĎAS, a.s. Žďár nad Sázavou at Bharat Forge Limited, India.
Every important step in the course of the work carried out at the customer’s end in India (e.g. the installa-tion and assembly of the equipment, its start-up, etc.) is accompanied by a small religious celebration, called puja. During the fi nal testing and the handover of the ŽĎAS forging set in July 2008, all parts of the set were decorated with fl owers before the start-up of the equipment and the manufacture of the fi rst large piece – an ingot weighing 31 tonnes.
CKW hydraulic forging presses are plunger-type two-column structures used primarily in shops with less space above the ground at the expense of a deeper sub-base.
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E N T E R P R I S E
Czech Plate Is Used for Building the World’s Largest Ships
Kateřina Krumpochová, EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL, a.s.,
e-mail: [email protected], www.vitkovicesteel.com
EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL, a.s. is a leading
metallurgical company producing steel,
heavy plates, rolled sections, sheet piles
and cut shapes. It turns out up to 950 mil-
lion tonnes of steel a year and employs
nearly 1 650 people. In November 2005,
the company closed the fi nal phase of pri-
vatisation, when it was bought by a lead-
ing Russian steel manufacturer – EVRAZ
Group S.A. Thanks to the massive support
of EVRAZ Group S.A. and its strong position
on the world and the Russian steel markets,
the company could enter the Russian pipe-
line market.
EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL Dominates European Heavy Plate ProductionThe vision of EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL is to
become one of the leaders of the Euro-
pean plate manufacturers’ market and to
supply its customers with products of the
highest quality with the best use prop-
erties and the highest possible added
value. In the Czech Republic, the compa-
ny is the only manufacturer of heavy plate
and a dominant producer of this article
on the European scale. It is also the only
manufacturer of sheet piles in the Czech
Republic. The company’s long-term effort
is to maintain its position on the market,
as well as to strengthen it. The company
is increasing the share of its production
of pipeline plates, quenched plates, and
plates made of high-grade steels for spe-
cial uses. Its metallurgical products are
used in sectors such as ship-building,
steel and bridge structures, transport
engineering, building machines, power
engineering and pipelines.
The Company’s Product Range is Very WideThe company’s core product is heavy
plates. The plates are made from con-
tinuously-cast slabs and are rolled to
thicknesses of 5 to 80 mm and widths
of 1000 to 3300 mm. Hot-rolled heavy
plates are processed into basic semi-fin-
ished products designed for further me-
chanical working. Cut shapes are made
on modern CNC controlled flame-cut-
ting machines. They are fitted with top
standard plasma burners and oxygen-
natural gas burners. The follow-up tech-
nological processing includes shot blast-
ing and painting. Apart from plates and
cut shapes, the production programme
also includes beams, angles, sheet piles,
crane rails, rims, round bars, and special
sections.
The Company Is Scoring Success in Ship-buildingSo far the last of the Freedom class cruise
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Shipbuilding is an important outlet for the company’s products
2 3 |
C Z E C H M E TA L W O R K I N G I N D U S T R Y
out on its maiden voyage last May. The
ship is the third in the series and was
built in Finland’s STX Europe ASA ship-
yards, until recently known as Aker Yards.
EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL supplied plate
for those ships, which was used espec-
ially in the most heavily stressed parts of
the keel below the water line. Altogeth-
er 6 042 tonnes of plate, approximately
one-quarter of the plate used in build-
ing the ship, came from EVRAZ VÍTKOV-
ICE STEEL.
Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the
Seas, and Independence of the Seas are
currently the world’s largest passenger
ships. They are 339 metres long, 39 me-
tres wide, and can take up to 5 000 peo-
ple, 1 400 of whom are crew members.
In future, the largest cruise vessels will
be “Genesis” class ships, which will be 360
metres long, 47 metres wide, and will
have a capacity of 8 400 people. EVRAZ
VÍTKOVICE STEEL supplies plate also for
this new class of ships.
�
EVRAZ VÍTKOVICE STEEL IN FIGURES:
Steel and rolling-mill production in tonnes
Production unit Product Year 2007
Steel mill Steel total 891 200
of which: slabs 891 200
Section mill Steel sections 163 230
3.5 four-high rolling mill Plate 732 882
Cut shapes cost accounting centre Cut shapes 28 374
Selected economic indicators for 2007
Output EUR 686 million
Revenues from the sale of own products and services EUR 647 million
Output consumption EUR 495 million
Added value EUR 191 million
Operating profi t EUR 139 million
Profi t before tax EUR 114 million
| 2 4
R E S E A R C H & D E V E L O P M E N T
Original Solution of Reducing the Environmental Impact of Foundries
Pavel Szturc, ForSTEEL, s.r.o.,
e-mail: [email protected], www.forsteel.cz
ForSTEEL, s.r.o. was established at the end
of 2004 by scientific workers, specialists
and project managers in the area of ap-
plied metallurgical research. This area is
the core subject of the company’s busi-
ness, which comprises especially metal
forming, material engineering, targeted
promotion of steel products, and of late
also the strongly forward-looking area
of using waste heat from metallurgical
processes. ForSTEEL has its offices within
the Scientific and Technological Park in
Ostrava, which enables it to co-operate
closely with innovation firms of a similar
orientation. Another advantage of its lo-
cation in Ostrava is the proximity of the
Technical University of Mining and Met-
allurgy. In co-operation with the Univer-
sity, the company is preparing a number
of joint projects with the participation of
students and doctorands. In this way, the
company wants to help to create the op-
timum environment for the professional
growth of young, technically educated
people.
ForSTEEL Works on an Environmentally Friendly Project for MetallurgyIn recent years, the company has been con-
cerned with the use of waste heat and the
heat pipe technology (HPT) in metallurgy.
The use of waste heat from burnt gas is
currently one of the most widely discussed
subjects in the energy management of
foundries. The problem covers not only the
economic issue of wasteful burning of natu-
ral gas in consequence of the uneconomi-
cal use of the heat obtained from burning,
but also the environmental consequences
caused by the high volume of emissions.
Successful Launching of the TechnologyTo examine the possibilities of using the
heat pipe technology, a complete analy-
sis was made in 2007 of technological pro-
cesses taking place inside several furnaces
in VÍTKOVICE HEAVY MACHINERY a.s., used
both for the technological heating of mate-
rial and for the heat processing of products
from their forge. The purpose of the analysis
was to obtain the parameters of the con-
sumers with regard to the potential use of
waste heat. On the basis of this analysis, one
forge furnace was chosen to examine the
possibility of connecting it to an exchanger.
After that, project documentation of the
pilot equipment was prepared. In the fi rst
phase of the project, the waste heat was
used for heating service water in combina-
tion with the heating of the production halls
in the winter season.
A great benefi t, besides clear economic
savings, is the reduction of CO2 emissions.
The heat obtained from the fume conduit
makes it possible to reduce CO2 emissions,
which helps to meet emission limits. Ac-
cording to expert estimates, the return on
investment for similar equipment is one or
two years after being put into operation.
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HPT IN BRIEF:HPT exchangers work on a principle diff erent from that used by conventional
exchangers. HPT is used to transfer heat from one place to another by means of
working medium vapours. The main part of the exchangers is hermetically closed
heat tubes forming a separate heat circuit. One end of the tube is heated by a me-
dium which transfers its heat (e.g. burnt gas), while the other end conveys the heat
to a cooling medium (e.g. pre-heated air, heating water, pre-heated combustion
air, etc.). The two parts are separated by a partition formed by the separating wall
through which the pipes pass. At the heated end, the working medium enclosed
inside the tubes evaporates as a result of the heat of the outgoing burnt gas, and
at the other end it transfers the heat released by its condensation to the medium
being heated. Ph
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| 2 6
R E S E A R C H & D E V E L O P M E N T
Research of Metals, a Way to Higher Efficiency of Production
Vladivoj Očenášek, VÚK Panenské Břežany, a.s., e-mail: [email protected], www.vuk-pb.cz
The research and development of non-
ferrous metals and alloys in today’s VÚK Panen-
ské Břežany a.s. Research Institute has a tradition
of more than fi fty years. Currently, the Institute
co-operates with manufacturers of non-fer-
rous metal products in the area of basic and
especially applied research. This co-operation
is focused on the development of new alloys,
optimisation of production technologies, and
the provision of consulting and expert services
to a wide range of enterprises operating in the
area of production and the use of non-ferrous
metals and their alloys. It also participates in the
integration of European standards into the Czech
standard system. The Institute has created very
good conditions for this work, both as regards the
equipment of its workplace with experimental
de vices and its personnel, which consists of a team
of researchers and technicians. An integral part of
VÚK Panenské Břežany are its testing rooms and
laboratories, which are members of the Czech
Testing Laboratories Association (SČZL).
The workplace occupies itself with research
and development projects supported by the
state and projects supported fi nancially by
both the state and production enterprises.
Its current work involves grant projects in the
area of basic material research and projects for
the development of new types of alloys and
the development and optimisation of produc-
tion technologies.
Research Helping the Development of Substitutes for Materials Containing Toxic MetalsA very important area of VÚK’s research work
involves materials and technologies aimed at
reducing the impact of harmful substances on
the environment, in response to growing en-
vironmentalist pressures for the elimination of
alloys containing toxic elements. That is why
stricter criteria are being applied to stand-
ards regulating the content of heavy metals
in water, foodstuff s, and the environment as
a whole. Another important environmen-
tally friendly source of saving is reducing the
weight of structures, especially in transport
engineering. In co-operation with univer sities
and non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises, VÚK
is currently tackling two projects: for the re-
search and development of materials which
do not contain toxic lead and materials and
technologies leading to the reduction of en-
ergy costs in their production and use. The
former involves machinable aluminium and
copper alloys with a limited or zero content
of harmful lead and lead-free solders used in
electronics.
The latter concerns the use of light metals
(aluminium and magnesium) and their alloys,
which are used in transport engineering with
the aim of decreasing the weight of structures
and signifi cantly reducing harmful emissions.
In the case of modern technologies, this re-
search is focused on the continuous casting of
aluminium alloy strips combined with cold roll-
ing. In comparison with the conventional ingot
technology, the new method brings consider-
able energy and material savings. These com-
pletely new materials and new production
technologies result in surprisingly better use
properties of products based on them.
Co-operation with Enterprises and Universities Is Benefi cial for Both SidesToday, research work and development in
the area of material research is unimaginable
without close co-operation between the re-
search institution, the manufacturer, and uni-
versities. That is why VÚK Panenské Břežany
has as its partner’s industrial enterprises which
are concerned with production in the area of
casting, forming, and heat treatment of non-
ferrous metals and alloys and with technical
universities. Its most important partners are
enterprises grouped in the Czech Nonferrous
Metal Industry Association (SKP), especially
sheet and pressed and forged piece manu-
facturers in the Czech Republic, such as AL
INVEST Břidličná, a.s., KOVOHUTĚ HOLDING
DT, a.s., Rio Tinto Alcan Děčín Extrusions, s.r.o.,
STROJMETAL KAMENICE, a.s., and KOVOHUTĚ
ROKYCANY, a.s. Its most important partners
among universities are Charles University in
Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics,
Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty
of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering,
and Brno University of Technology.
VÚK Co-operates with Partners AbroadVÚK also co-operates with institutions in other
countries. For example, in the area of modern
technologies, such as friction stir welding, it co-
operates in tackling Project 5 of the framework
programme with its partners, GKSS Geesth-
acht in Germany and TU Lisbon, and under
the Eureka project in the use of continuous
casting of strip material for the manufacture
of thin aluminium alloy sheets with Marmara
Research Centre in Turkey.
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VÚK is working on the development of new alloys
| 2 8
S U R V E Y
Poll of Successful Companies Operating in the Metallurgy and Metalworking Sector
Bezručova 300, 735 93 Bohumín, phone: +420 596 081 111,
fax: +420 596 082 801, e-mail: [email protected], www.zdb.cz
ŽDB GROUP a.s.
ŽDB GROUP, which is part of the KKCG fi nancial and investment
group, has a tradition going more than 120 years back. The com-
pany supplies a wide range of wires and wire products, such as
ropes, steel cords, springs
and metal fabrics. It also
makes cast iron boil-
ers and central heating
bodies, commercial cast-
ings, steel shapes and
bars, and ingots.
You have the most
up-to-date wire drawing
equipment. What benefi t
will you get from this
investment?
In 2008, we invested large
sums in our Drátovna wire
mill and put fi ve new wire-
drawing lines in operation.
This new manufacturing
equipment boasts the
highest world standards
and its installation marked
the termination of the fi rst
stage of the mill’s moderni-
sation, which ranks it among Europe’s leading wire manufacturers.
How do you reduce the impact of your production on the
environment?
In 2008, we completed a vast improvement project by investing large
sums in a modern, environmentally friendly heating system and the
reconstruction of our old boiler room. Work on the project started in
January 2006, in co-operation with our Service Centre. Besides heating,
the system will make it possible to use the steam also for technologi-
cal purposes. This investment will help to improve the quality of the air
in Bohumín, the town where ŽDB GROUP has its headquarters.
Number of employees: 2 898Contact: Ms Petra Wodeckáe-mail: [email protected]: Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Italy, the USA, Asia,
Africa and Australia
Ing. Fr. Janečka 147, 257 41 Týnec nad Sázavou,
phone: +420 317 703 111, fax: +420 317 703 541,
e-mail: [email protected], www.metaz.cz
Metaz a.s.
Metaz a.s. is one of the most important aluminium alloy and
steel cast product manufacturers in the Czech Republic. Since
its establishment in 1931, the company has built a stable posi-
tion for itself as a supplier of products to customers in Western
and Central Europe, and overseas. The steel foundry is certified
under EN ISO 9001:2000 standards and holds also other certifi-
cates, e.g. for the manufacture of railway equipment.
What production technologies do you use? What competitive
advantages do these technologies provide?
The basic technologies used by the aluminium alloy foundry
are low-pressure metal mould casting, gravitation casting,
and sand casting. A special, high-precision method is plaster
mould casting, which is used, for example, in the manufacture
of turbo-blower parts. Much in the focus is the quality of the
castings, which is controlled by special measuring and testing
equipment (3D measuring, X-Ray examination, spectral analy-
ses, etc.).
The most commonly used technology is sand casting. A spe-
cial technology is centrifugal casting, which is used for castings
requiring high inside quality and homogeneity. The main advan-
tage of the above technologies in combination with very strict
control of castings is high quality.
Where can your castings be found?
The main products of the steel foundry are special alloy castings
used as parts for the automobile industry, grates and fi re bars,
plough blades and plough edges for farming machines and glass
moulds. The castings turned out by the alu-
minium-alloy foundry are used mainly in
the automobile and aircraft indus-
tries and in electrical engineering,
e.g. to make suction piping,
engine girders, car wheels,
cylinder heads, slide bends,
fuel injection pumps, etc.
Turnover: EUR 13 millionNumber of employees: 380Contact: Ms Eva Muškováe-mail: [email protected]: EU states, the USA
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Metaz specialises in the production of aluminium and steel castings
2 9 |
C Z E C H M E TA L W O R K I N G I N D U S T R Y
Křižíkova 68 h, 660 00 Brno,
phone: +420 532 041 700, fax: +420 530 041 701,
e-mail: [email protected], www.kpslevarna.cz
Královopolská slévárna a.s.
Královopolská slévárna is a company with a tradition of more than
one hundred years, which makes steel castings, centrifugal cast
tubes, and special shapes. Its main customers are companies in
the ship-building and power industries. The foundry supplies large
quantities of materials, including high pressure resistant metals and
stress, corrosion, and water resistant materials.
Recently you scored an important success among suppliers of
sections for the ship-building industry. What does this success mean
to you and how are you going to use it for the future development of
your company? What other achievements can you boast?
We managed to strengthen our position as suppliers for the ship-
building industry and have become established manufacturers
of strictly certified cast sections. In our opinion, the ship-build-
ing industry is a very stable and very reliable customer for our
products, which accounts for 30% of our turnover. In addition to
ship-building, we are endeavouring to strengthen our position
in the power industry, which is responsible for a comparable
share of our growth. Our latest success worth mentioning is the
certificate we obtained from Czech Railways for castings of up
to 4 000 kg.
On a competitive market, such as metallurgy, a very important
factor is strategy. What are you doing to raise your competitiveness?
We focus on smaller deliveries with high material and weight
flexibility, which enables us to satisfy a wide range of customers.
Our strategy with regard to competition is placing emphasis on
quality and fast delivery rather than on low prices. This policy is
helping us to succeed in demanding regions such as West Eu-
rope and Scandinavia.
Turnover: EUR 8 millionNumber of employees: 180Contact: Mr Karel Ryšavýe-mail: [email protected]: Russia, Scandinavia, Germany, Canada, the UK, Slova-
kia, Poland, and France.
Mostecká 1487, 419 01 Duchcov,
phone: +420 417 835 141, fax: +420 417 835 156,
e-mail: [email protected], www.kovosreal.cz
KOVOSREAL s.r.o.
KOVOSREAL s.r.o. is a leading Czech metal sheet processing
company. It supplies a wide range of products made in se-
ries or to the customers’ individual orders. Its specialisation is
sheet punching, cutting out and bending, pressing, varnish-
ing, and welding. The company has its own tool shop provided
with equipment for making and servicing special tools (cut-
ting, bending, drawing, progressive and combined tools). The
company is certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2001 and ISO
14001:2005 standards.
Your company has just invested in very modern technology in
the area of sheet processing. What benefit do you expect to draw
from this investment?
We have invested in metal sheet processing equipment, specifi-
cally a cutting-out machine. TRUMPF cutting-out centres and
press brakes are very modern machines, which can work sheet
up to 4 mm thick. The new equipment will make it possible to
raise the quality of our products and shorten delivery terms.
Your company is a purely Czech firm, with no foreign capital.
What are the advantages of this arrangement?
The main advantage is that we can develop our company com-
pletely according to our own ideas, independently of any for-
eign influence. This arrangement, however, means that we must
depend completely on our own resources, even at moments
when a foreign owner could help us.
Turnover: EUR 3.6 millionNumber of employees: 85Contact: Mr Jan Kučíreke-mail: [email protected]: Germany, Belgium
Special emphasis is placed on the quality of material
TRUMATIC 5000R Equipment
| 3 0
I N F O R M AT I O N
Exhibitions and Trade Fairs Concerned with Metallurgy and Metalworking
IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
IEF – International Engineering Fair51st International Engineering Fair
14-18 September 2009
Veletrhy Brno, a.s.
Výstaviště 1, 647 00 Brno, Czech Republic
e-mail: [email protected], www.bvv.cz
FOND-EX13th International Foundry Fair
11-14 May 2010
Veletrhy Brno, a.s.
Výstaviště 1, 647 00 Brno, Czech Republic
e-mail: [email protected], www.bvv.cz
OFFICIAL PARTICIPATION OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC IN FOREIGN EXHIBITIONS AND TRADE FAIRS
CIMT11th China International Machine Tool Show
6-11 April 2009
China International Exhibition Centre
e-mail: [email protected],
http://chinapoo222298.chinapoo.cn/enshow.shtml
IMTEX Bangalore14th Indian Metal-cutting Machine Tool Exhibition
21-27 January 2010
Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers‘ Association (IMTMA)
Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC),
10th Mile, Tumkur Road, Bangalore
e-mail: [email protected], www.imtex.in
MINISTRIESMinistry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic
www.mpo.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic
www.env.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
ASSOCIATIONS AND UNIONSConfederation of Industry of the Czech Republic
www.spcr.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
Association of Foundries of the Czech Republic
www.svazslevaren.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
Hutnictví železa a.s.
www.hz.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
Czech Constructional Steelwork Association
www.caok.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
Czech Nonferrous Metal Industry Association
www.kovohute.net � e-mail: [email protected]
Institut ocelových konstrukcí, spol. s r.o.
www.iok.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH WORKPLACES Brno University of Technology– Faculty of Civil Engineering,
Institute of Metal and Timber Structures
www.fce.vutbr.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil
Engineering, Institute of Steel Structures
web.fsv.cvut.cz/k134 � e-mail: [email protected]
Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil
Engineering, Department of Steel and Timber Structures
www.fsv.cvut.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Metallurgy and
Material Engineering
www.fmmi.cz � e-mail: [email protected]
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