ElvalHalcor Hellenic Copper and Aluminium Industry S.A. (ElvalHalcor) is a global frontrunner in aluminum and copper processing. Since the 2017 merger of Elval, a leading European aluminum rolling company, and Halcor, the largest copper and copper alloys producer in EMEA, the company has grown into a global force with a market presence in over 90 countries. The company credits its tremendous growth to its commitment to continuous improvement, prompting sizable investments in state-of-the-art production technology and world-class research and development facilities.
On several occasions, when moving forward with a critical plant investment, they have called upon SMS group to supply the necessary technology, to exchange expertise and process know-how – beginning in 2000 when SMS installed a six-high cold rolling mill in Oinofyta, Greece. Since then, the partners have collaborated on numerous projects, which have been instrumental in the company’s rise to one of Europe’s leading aluminum producers.
Advanced technology and steadfast commitment
One of the latest and greatest joint successes was converting an existing reversing mill to a 1+4 hot rolling mill by adding a high-performance finishing mill in 2020. This advanced four-stand mill enables the production of hot-rolled aluminum strip, catering to a broad variety of industrial needs. The mill features SMS group’s cutting-edge rolling technology and X-Pact® automation, including CVC® plus for continuous quality, advanced cooling systems, and precise profile, flatness, and thickness controls. Additionally, SMS supplied a comprehensive Amova coil transport system.
The project was realized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite travel restrictions and special on-site measures, the dedicated teams from SMS group and ElvalHalcor ensured the project’s successful completion through innovative problem-solving and global online collaboration. In a common statement, both ElvalHalcor and SMS leaders agreed that “the key to the successful completion of the project was the excellent specialists on both sides, who demonstrated close cooperation and great commitment in overcoming a special set of challenges. This has further strengthened our long-standing, trusting relationship.”
New software architecture
Much of the project’s success hinged on the innovative new modular level 1 and 2 software architecture that uses multi directional connectivity – implemented here for the first time. The software is designed in several layers to improve and stabilize real-time performance – an approach to facilitate faster responses to guarantee flawless production performance. The new structure also introduces the latest functional and diagnostic systems from the lowest sensor levels up to sequencing and higher-level operations, further improving plant availability and performance.
This brand-new software architecture was successfully implemented in an exceptional, collaborative effort. This part of the project is also a prime example of the success from our lifecycle approach. In this case, SMS group’s high-performance automation goes far beyond unique system expertise and applications, it also offers associated services, corresponding software design, and applications that reliably boost productivity, quality, and efficiency over the plant’s lifecycle.
Next step: sustainable metals
The journey of intense collaboration continues as we embark on exciting new projects in the field of decarbonization. In November 2023, ElvalHalcor decided to implement our Viridis Energy & Sustainability Suite in its flat rolling mills in Oinofyta. ElvalHalcor’s partnership with SMS group represents a significant step in its sustainability journey. The Viridis Energy & Sustainability Suite aligns perfectly with ElvalHalcor’s commitment to sustainable aluminum production and to reducing the company’s energy and environmental footprint.
The two modules of the Viridis software platform facilitate sustainable aluminum production and will significantly reduce the Oinofyta plant’s environmental and carbon footprint. Viridis Performance enables energy and utilities consumption modeling by considering contextual factors such as raw material and product characteristics, production levels, and quality standards. The software provides a precise understanding of the impact of different production routes and will comprise over 70 equipment assets, such as melting furnaces, preheating furnaces, and hot and cold rolling mills. Viridis Grids will support ElvalHalcor to forecast energy consumption precisely and autonomously based on the production plan using automated machine learning resources.
The set-up of the project employs a new approach. It will follow an agile methodology, which allows the deployment teams at both SMS and ElvalHalcor to create a backlog of jobs to be completed and prioritize its execution as the implementation progresses. This process adds tremendous flexibility to the project and will create value that much faster.