TPT January 2013

Industry News

Forgemasters on roll with South American contract

eight soccer stadiums for 2014 World Cup and major infrastructure projects for the country such as railways, wind power plants, ports and roads. SFIL has also gained two more South American contracts, one from Argentina-based existing customer Aluar, and one from new customer Metallurgica Oliva for nine small work and back up rolls. The work will help to further capitalise on the company’s offshore division, Vulcan, breaking into the Brazilian market following the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) business mission to South America last year. Mr Wilks added, “Forgemasters is one of very few companies in the world with the capability to supply steel rolls of this size, which puts us in a very strong competitive position internationally. These contracts also show our commitment to extending our reach into the BRIC countries, which are emerging markets and important for British businesses to expand into.” The company is also currently producing large back-up rolls for mills in China, India and Venezuela, and has secured its first contracts for rolls in Romania.

relationship with Siemens. The rolls are also the first that have been dispatched to Brazil by SFIL for around nine years and will help to build our profile in South America.” Finished components will be used to roll steel plate for ships, bridges, and pipes carrying gas and water. The order for the huge back-up rolls confirms the company’s standing in the global marketplace as a UK exporter. Specialist techniques were used to produce the rolls, including forging large steel ingots and heat treatment – a process that exposes the rolls to closely controlled temperatures to create highly specific hardness properties. The rolls were then machine finished to within 0.05mm using computer- controlled machine tools.

SHEFFIELD Forgemasters International (SFIL) has retained its position as one of the largest suppliers of steel back up rolls after completing work on a multi- million pound deal for South America. The engineering firm supplied five back up rolls to a new plant in Brazil, on behalf of Siemens Metals Technologies, which is operated by special steels manufacturer Gerdau. Forgemasters supplied five large rolls for Gerdau’s new plate mill finishing stand, each of which weighed 153 tonnes and measured two metres in diameter, as part of a contract for Sheffield-based Siemens Metals Technologies. Martin Wilks, senior sales manager at Forgemasters, said, “The Gerdau contract is an exciting development in the continuation of our

Engineers from Gerdau visited SFIL and saw one of the rolls whilst they were at Siemens plc on a training course

Gerdau is a producer of long products in the Americas, and one of the largest suppliers of special steel in the world, with industrial operations in 14 countries. It meets the needs of the civil construction, industrial and agribusiness sector, and also supplies special flat products for the automotive industry. In Brazil, Gerdau steel is part of the construction and modernisation of

Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd – UK Fax: +44 114 251 9013 Email: sales@sfel.com Website: www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

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J anuary 2013