Italian stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST), part of the Arvedi Group, is investing in the modernisation of its Terni facility, with a focus on intelligent manufacturing systems and sustainable process innovations. The project includes the upgrade of the plant’s cold annealing and pickling line to improve production efficiency and increase throughput.
The investment comes in response to rising demand from key sectors such as food, chemical, construction, and automotive. To carry out the upgrade, AST has contracted engineering group Fives, Kallanish notes.
Central to the upgrade is the integration into the annealing section of induction heating technology, specifically the CELES EcoTransFlux transverse flux induction heater. This system enables ultra-rapid heating at extremely high temperatures, even for non-magnetic stainless steel grades, eliminating current furnace limitations during product transitions, Fives notes. The upgrade is expected to deliver a production increase of over 16% on certain product lines.
In addition to boosting productivity, the use of induction technology significantly reduces NOx and CO2 emissions, aligning with Arvedi’s broader sustainability and environmental goals.
As part of the upgrade, a new digital thermal process solution called Virtuo-L will be installed to control the heating section, aiming to reduce fuel consumption and enhance mechanical properties through precise transition management. Based on advanced predictive modelling, Virtuo-L enables highly accurate furnace control by automatically adjusting heating power and optimising strip temperature transitions, independent of operator shifts.
“The direct benefits are a reduction in coil rejections by more than 5% and better heating management resulting in lower gas consumption. In addition, an AI-based cooling model will be introduced to regulate the cooling speed of the strip … We firmly believe that the electrification of processes and the implementation of advanced digital solutions, including sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms, are an integral part of our decarbonisation plan for the strategic development of the site,” says Arvedi AST chief technology officer Gian Luca Gigli.
AST has invested in digitisation over recent years to boost production management, quality control, and production issue detection. Fives has already installed an intelligent quality management system, “Eyeron”, with the aim of streamlining the production process (see Kallanish passim).
Natalia Capra France
