TPT January 2013

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Industry News
34 January 2013
Forgemasters on roll with
South American contract
SHEFFIELD Forgemasters International
(SFIL) has retained its position as one
of the largest suppliers of steel back up
rolls after completing work on a multi-
million pound deal for South America.
The engineering firm supplied five back
up rolls to a new plant in Brazil, on
behalf of Siemens Metals Technologies,
which is operated by special steels
manufacturer Gerdau.
Forgemasters supplied five large
rolls for Gerdau’s new plate mill
finishing stand, each of which weighed
153 tonnes and measured two metres
in diameter, as part of a contract for
Sheffield-based Siemens Metals
Technologies. Martin Wilks, senior
sales manager at Forgemasters, said,
“The Gerdau contract is an exciting
development in the continuation of our
relationship with Siemens. The rolls are
also the first that have been dispatched
to Brazil by SFIL for around nine years
and will help to build our profile in South
America.”
Finished components will be used to
roll steel plate for ships, bridges, and
pipes carrying gas and water. The order
for the huge back-up rolls confirms
the company’s standing in the global
marketplace as a UK exporter.
Specialist techniques were used to
produce the rolls, including forging
large steel ingots and heat treatment
– a process that exposes the rolls
to closely controlled temperatures
to create highly specific hardness
properties.
The rolls were then machine finished
to within 0.05mm using computer-
controlled machine
tools.
Gerdau is a producer
of long products in the
Americas, and one of
the largest suppliers
of special steel in the
world, with industrial
operations in 14
countries. It meets
the needs of the civil
construction, industrial
and agribusiness sector,
and also supplies
special flat products for
the automotive industry.
In Brazil, Gerdau steel
is part of the construction
and modernisation of
eight soccer stadiums for 2014 World
Cup and major infrastructure projects
for the country such as railways, wind
power plants, ports and roads.
SFIL has also gained two more
South American contracts, one from
Argentina-based existing customer
Aluar, and one from new customer
Metallurgica Oliva for nine small work
and back up rolls.
The work will help to further capitalise
on the company’s offshore division,
Vulcan, breaking into the Brazilian
market following the UK Trade &
Investment (UKTI) business mission to
South America last year.
Mr Wilks added, “Forgemasters
is one of very few companies in the
world with the capability to supply
steel rolls of this size, which puts us
in a very strong competitive position
internationally. These contracts also
show our commitment to extending
our reach into the BRIC countries,
which are emerging markets and
important for British businesses to
expand into.”
The company is also currently
producing large back-up rolls for mills
in China, India and Venezuela, and has
secured its first contracts for rolls in
Romania.
Sheffield Forgemasters
International Ltd – UK
Fax: +44 114 251 9013
Email:
Website:
Engineers from Gerdau visited SFIL and saw one of the rolls
whilst they were at Siemens plc on a training course