Successful startup at Aceros Alfa
Aceros Alfa contracted Russula for a major upgrading of its Honduras plant. Located in San Pedro Sula Honduras, the rolling mill produces reinforcing bar, squares, angles and H beams, for local consumption and regional exportation. Russula provided all the electrical equipment, control software and process knowledge necessary to transform Aceros Alfa into one of the largest and most automated plants in Central America.
The automation upgrade covered all the equipment from the entry side looper to the bundle discharge table. An interface to the existing reversing rougher was also developed as part of this project. Russula designed, supplied and supervised the on-site installation of the new control system and drives. The new electrical and control system features new multidrive packages with regenerative braking, high performance DC drives and Russula’s latest developments in rolling mill control.
In addition, Russula also provided on-site training for the mill operators and electrical maintenance teams. AC drives, DC drives and iba data acquisition fundamentals were reviewed in classroom training venue tailored specifically for the Aceros Alfa mill using a comprehensive set of displays, screens and actual production parameters.
During the summer of 2016, the Aceros Alfa mill was shutdown for the electrical and automation upgrade. A Russula team of engineers was on-site at all times to ensure a successful switchover to the new system and the first billet was rolled on August 2nd. The new system has enabled Aceros Alfa to achieve more consistent rolling and a higher quality product.
About Aceros Alfa
Aceros Alfa was founded in 1983, dedicated to the production of rebar to meet the needs of the local market. The mill currently produces the full range of reinforcing bars ASTM-A615 standard grades 40 and 60. Aceros Alfa is able to produce small bundles by its tying machine, a preference dictated by customers that rely on manual labor. As a result the company is able to fulfill the requirements of all levels of customers in the market, a competitive advantage indeed. Due to its very high quality standards and capacity, Aceros Alfa regularly exports to other markets in the region including Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Belize.
