thyssenkrupp Schulte, the German steel distribution unit within thyssenkrupp Materials Service, says it has helped to improve the supply chain of Siemens’ Energy division with new product development. This includes the application of a new hinged armature for high-voltage lines, developed in cooperation with thyssenkrupp Steel, it says in a statement.
The hinged armatures installed in the Siemens circuit breakers are stamped for immediate use and produced by thyssenkrupp Steel Europe to customer specifications from coated so-called Pladur strip, Kallanish learns from tk Schulte. Up to now, these armatures had been manufactured from untreated strip and then given a special coating. The long-term contract covers several tonnes of strip shipped annually from the Nuremberg Logistics Centre JIT to Siemens.
In order to precisely determine Siemens requirements, the technical and quality details were defined during a visit to the customer together with technologists from tk Steel, Gerald Mulot of tk Schulte explains. “With the use of the Pladur strip that already possesses a defined surface coating we have been able to optimise for Siemens the time-consuming and costly process and achieve our objective of stamping the end product directly from the coated metal,” he says.
