Modernization and restart of the 3.5 m plate mill at Vitkovice

We have started the countdown: Stahl '99 is within reach. A look at the det ailed conference programme, which this year has been enhanced by concise su mmaries, will further add to the already high expectations. The technical s essions of Talk about Steel, as in the past, will cover the whole range of state-of-the-art steel technology, including environmental protection and c limate-related topics as well as the tax on energy. The Steel Forum's motto will be Steel on the move - steel used in modern traffic systems. In recent years, the steel industries have established technology road maps which identify future technological challenges and new market requirements . They also define the technologies that must be developed to meet future b usiness needs. Only through modern plant technology can a company position itself competit ively in the international marketplace. However, this does not necessarily require the erection of a brand new greenfield production facility. A highl y attractive and effective alternative is bringing individual plants, compo nents or production units to the latest state of the art through targeted m odernisation measures. An example being the complete revamp of the 3.5 m pl ate mill of Vitkovice a.s. in Ostrava. Also Ispat Walzdraht Hochfeld GmbH h as installed an automatic device to reduce the amount of off-tolerance prod uct: Another multi-variable control concept developed for the application i n metal forming plants is used to improve the quality of hot strip coils. The structural and organisational change currently taking place in industri al businesses has also reached maintenance. A study on strategies, organisa tion forms, functions and trends in maintenance comes to an interesting, co mpany-independent conclusion.