TPT March 2021

Case study: the development of the global steel tube storage industry By Kasto Maschinenbau GmbH

Steel trading is as old as steel production itself. As a link between the steel mills and processors, steel trading plays a central role for all industries in which the raw material is used – from the construction industry to the automobile and supplier industry through to mechanical, plant engineering, aerospace and of course tubes. Many companies need steel in relatively small quantities, but in many different dimensions, qualities, geometries or alloys. For most of these companies, it is not economically viable to purchase complete bundles directly from the manufacturer. Because of this, steel traders purchase large quantities of materials from the steel mills and

sell them based on orders. “In addition to the small lot sizes of the delivery quantities, the extensive delivery areas and often remote customer sites pose a logistical challenge”, explained Oliver Ellermann, chairman of the Federal Association of the German Steel Industry (BDS). The steel industry, which accounts for about 40 per cent of total sales, is by far Kasto’s most important customer group – in Germany, Europe and also worldwide. The requirements and tasks of the industry have changed significantly over the last decades – just as the products and solutions have changed with which Kasto has long supported steel traders. To overcome such challenges, suitable storage and processing technology is indispensable. For a long time, manually operated floor or cantilever storage systems were the dominating image in the plant halls of the distributors. However, this changed towards the end of the 1970s, when the first approaches to automation became visible in the industry. At that time, Japan exhibited particular signs of advancement: very early on, the steel industry also took over the cutting of the ordered materials for the processing industry. At the same time, Kasto introduced its first fully automated storage systems. These systems made not only a storage and retrieval procedure possible without human intervention but also enabled independent supply to the connected sawing machines. Even with the introduction of the first hacksaws, they could be seen in the steel industry, frequently in conjunction with infeed and outfeed roller conveyors. During the 1980s and 1990s, the combination of storage and sawing technology also became more important in other countries, including Germany. Here too, more and more manufacturing companies transferred the initial processing steps such as sawing to their suppliers. Kasto acted on this trend and developed high- performance high-bay storage systems and sawing machines with automated infeed and outfeed periphery for the steel traders. These two business divisions were combined in the form of integrated sawing centres in which all processes are performed automatically, from storing the raw material to commissioning the finished cut pieces. Large overhead travel storage systems with undercarriages are particularly popular with customers. Utilising the principle ‘Material to Operator’, these systems deliver the requested material fast and efficiently. In the mid-1990s, Kasto then introduced the first automated honeycomb storage system: in comparison, these systems are a space-saving solution and do not require a pit for the carriages. This type of storage system remains extremely successful in the steel industry today. When it comes to saws, companies rely on versatile, high- performance machines such as the band saw series KASTOtec

In the late 1970s, KASTO introduced its first fully automated storage systems

In modern sawing centres, all processes are carried out automatically from the storage of raw materials to the commissioning of the finished cut pieces

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March 2021 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL