ABM Week 2017

The annual conference of Brazilian Metallurgy, Materials and Mining Association, ABM Week 2017, was held at the Pro Magno Events Center in São Paulo, Brazil, at the beginning of October.

As the largest steel conference in Latin America, this event is primarily attended by delegates from industry and academia from across the region. The topics covered ranged from mining to the latest in product innovation and technology. Over 750 technical papers were presented, and Union Electric Åkers was well represented.

Zhi Zhang, R&D Senior Engineer, presented a paper on Union Electric Åkers TwinAlloy™ Steel series, a new generation of high-performance rolls. The paper, which is co-authored by Zhi Zhang, Mats Söder, R&D Manager, and Ron Webber, Technical Services Manager, discusses the development VICTURA™ steel grade rolls. These breakthrough rolls are engineered for use in hot rolling, late finishing stand applications (see articles titled “A New Roll Grade and Technology Concept is Born” and “Union Electric Åkers Introduces VICTURA TwinAlloy Steel Rolls”). The presentation also included a discussion of the research and customer trial results that went into the development of VICTURA.

A second paper, “Total Cost of Ownership Models,” by Ron Webber, presented various aspects of analyzing the true cost of using rolls. Apparent variables, such as T/mm and roll price, do not always give a complete picture of what customers can spend on rolls. Union Electric Åkers’ personnel can assist our valued customers in evaluating and reducing their overall roll costs.
Both papers are available upon request.