Non-stop cutting and levelling

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Processing of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, galvanized, pre-painted and pre-coated sheet metal, as well as non-metallic sheet metal such as aluminium and copper alloys: that’s what polish company Tesko Steel is all about. The activity is carried out with five installations designed and built (with a sixth coming in) by Euroslitter. Current production capacity of 500,000 tonnes/year approx. It targets important customer clients in the electronic industry, automotive, carpentry and shipbuilding sectors as well as producers of electrical parts and the general industry throughout Europe.

With a current production capacity of 500,000 tons of sheet metal that can be processed thanks to high-performance cutting and flattening lines from “coil”, Tesko Steel today plays a leading role among the most modern, competitive and technological companies in Poland. Founded in 1996, the company decided a decade later to combine its commercial activity as a wholesaler of steel products with that of processing the products themselves. In fact, the installation of a first coil sheet metal cutting line, purchased in Italy by Euroslitter of Dolzago (LC), dates back to 2007, followed further purchases over the years. We have combined solid growth and constant operational expansion to better serve the major manufacturers of household appliances, the automotive industry, manufacturers of electrical parts and general industry throughout Europe.

To date – confirms Robert Schnabel, CEO of Tesko Steel. Sp. Z.oo – we have as many as five coil sheet metal processing lines, waiting for a new plant, also designed and built by Euroslitter, which will be installed by 2022 in a new department of our production site in Rybnik, to complete the planned expansion“.

In fact, the company has set up an investment plan with a project worth 72 million PLN (over 16 million euros), which began about two years ago on a new area of six hectares, where new warehouses, structures for technical and logistic use have been built on about 15,300 square meters, as well as 2,400 square meters of office building. In the next two years, the second expansion phase will be completed, which will include the construction of another department at the company (where the new Euroslitter line will be installed) and a large parking area to optimize the management of the transport fleet.

An advanced infrastructure,” says Schnabel proudly, ” which will enable us to further increase our annual production capacity from the current 500,000 tons to around 700,000 tons of workable sheet metal. An ambitious project that will position us among the largest and most modern European service centers of its kind“.

Precision and flexibility on magnetic and non-magnetic materials

As previously stated, at Tesko Steel there are five sheet metal working lines manufactured by Euroslitter, including two new cutting and levelling plants, installed a couple of years ago.

“These are two lines – explains Ezio Rinaldo Ribolzi, owner of Euroslitter – complete with automatic packaging, highly flexible, capable of processing sheet steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, coated and galvanized sheets, up to a coil width of 2,100 mm, in thicknesses between 0.3 and 6 mm“.

The working speed is 0-400 m/min for the slitter and 0-80 m/min for the levelling line, with possible processing of trapezoidal geometries with angles of +/- 33°. The concept of fully automatic feed status also makes a difference, with intermediate controls both of tolerance during cutting (+/-0.1 mm), and of pressure force and surface flatness (post-cutting), with further laser verification for possible (and automatic) rejects where the set dimensional standards and parametric requirements are not met. As a guarantee of quality also in the handling of processed raw materials (whether magnetic or non-magnetic), Euroslitter technicians have equipped the lines with specific “vacuum-magnetic” stacking and packaging systems that allow the safe handling of products of all types, even large ones (up to 2,100 x 6,000 mm).

Systems – adds Ribolzi – of very new generation, I would say in some ways are unique in Europe, which together with the presence of the pallet loader that can be used in automatic and manual mode, allow high productivity, regardless of the raw material used, minimizing, if not canceling downtime compared to more traditional systems“.

What’s equally decisive for the highest quality of order execution is the weighing phase downstream of the cut, which is managed with sensors and digital scales mounted in the stacking station.

Digital order management, from “coil” to shipping

Automation and process efficiency play a key role in Tesko Steel from the receipt of the raw material, from its logistics management to the final shipment.

Shipping – Schnabel intervenes – coordinated by our subsidiary Tesko Steel Logistics sp. Z. oo, and carried out with a substantial fleet of owned vehicles, of which 85 with a cargo of up to 27 tons each, purchased last year. In this regard, our plants are equipped with innovative solutions for the automatic control of all transports and shipments, thanks to a vehicle number plate identification system, perfectly integrated with batch management“. In optics 4.0, all Euroslitter lines are interconnected to provide all process data, a crucial element to optimize the flow according to workloads.

The cutting and levelling lines,” notes Schnabel himself, ” are run by a single operator, with the support of three packers. A workforce normally spread over 2-3 shifts six days a week. A continuity made possible by the great reliability of the systems“.

Suffice it to say that the cutting line for 1,000 – 2,100 mm reels, 4 – 25 mm thick has been in operation for over four years, and since then it has only stopped for routine maintenance.

Our challenge – underlines and concludes Ribolzi – is to be able to design solid, reliable, safe, and precise lines. Once again, I reiterate that in our sector companies stand out in results and research and effective collaboration with customers. Only in this way does synergy emerge victorious in allowing mutual growth.

This is exactly what has happened with Tesko Steel in the last 14 years, from when the company decided to install the first coil sheet metal cutting line to the current five lines. Waiting for the sixth, a multi-blanking cutting line, specific for sheet cutting, of which (rightly so!) for now, Euroslitter does not give details.

From 5 to 6 process lines, from 500.00 to 700.000 tons/year

Within the next two years, Euroslitter will install a new coil sheet metal cutting line at Tesko Steel’s plants in Rybnik, Poland, in addition to the existing five. An expansion that will increase the current production capacity by about 40%, from the current 500,000 to 700,000 tonnes/year of processed sheet metal. The system will be added to the following already operational:

  • ACP cross-cutting line I
    • Width, 400 – 2,000 mm.
    • Length, 400 – 6,100 mm.
    • Cold rolled sheet thicknesses, 0.4 – 3 mm.
    • Hot rolled sheet thicknesses, 1.5 – 6 mm.
    • coil weight, 32 tons.
  • ACP II cross-cutting line
    • Width, 700 – 2,100 mm.
    • Sheet length, 700 – 16,000 mm.
    • Cut sheet thickness, 4 – 25 mm.
    • coil weight, 43 tons.
  • ACP III trapezium cross-cutting line
    • Width, 280 – 2,050 mm.
    • Length, 400 – 6,000 mm.
    • Sheet metal thicknesses, 0.3 – 3 mm.
    • coil weight, 35 tons.
  • Longitudinal cutting line ACW I complete with packaging line
    • Max reel width, 2,100 mm.
    • Thicknesses, 0.3 – 6 mm.
    • coil weight, 35 tons.
  • Longitudinal cutting line ACW II complete with packaging line
    • Max reel width, 1,650 mm.
    • Thicknesses, 0.2 – 5 mm.
    • coil weight, 35 tons.

 

Dynamism, innovation, and skills at the service of sheet metal working

The expertise acquired and the continuous research and development characterize Euroslitter as a highly innovative and constantly evolving company. The solutions provided by Dolzago (LC) include the design, construction, installation, and maintenance of the systems, in order to guarantee both the safeguard and investment productivity. Thanks to its design department.the same company is also able to evaluate and produce special plants according to specific requests, as in the case of Tesko Steel, solving and optimizing all aspects and specific needs of the project. Established in 2000 upon experience of accomplished technicians in the sector, Euroslitter has constantly grown over the years, consolidating its presence in Italy and abroad, and further increasing its assets and technical expertise. Numerous plants have been built (longitudinal cutting lines, packaging and binding lines, cross-cutting lines – rotary shears) which have been joined over time by revamping (i.e. plant updating), alongside special applications and maintenance and technical assistance services. Transversal expertise and know-how on processed materials including hot-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel, stainless steel, grain oriented and non- grain oriented magnetic sheet, aluminum, copper and metals.