Multimillion rand aluminium project for AST and Honeywell
July 2004
News
The AST Group and Honeywell Process Solutions have been awarded a multimillion dollar order from Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) to provide a manufacturing execution system (MES) for the company's Line 5 expansion project.
ALBA is currently undergoing a plant expansion to increase production from 530 000 to 840 000 tonnes per annum with the construction of a new Potline-5. The MES will provide the new plant with state-of-the-art information technology to streamline data handling and enhance decision-making processes across the value chain for Line 5 plants comprising carbon, reduction and casthouse, as well as two upstream supply sectors being power and calciner.
The AST Group of South Africa has previously partnered with Honeywell to deliver consulting services for defining the MES and for implementing a total integrated production solution to ALBA. AST provides MES domain expertise in aluminium smelting and also enterprise resource planning (ERP) consulting, which will provide value added services to the supply of the MES - in which AST is a market leader for such services in South Africa. In AST, these are supplied by the IPS and ERP Solutions divisions.
"The combination of Honeywell's state-of-the-art technology and Aluminium Smelter focused implementation team was the most cost effective solution to help ALBA achieve its business vision. We firmly believe that this project will lead to productivity improvements at our site and help us realise our goal of being one of the lowest cost producers," said Peter Cowie, ALBA's general manager Line 5 Operations.
Both AST and Honeywell are providing skilled MES resources to the joint project, which will be managed as one team together with a BMS team from ALBA for delivering the MES using the Bussiness.Flex product suite of Honeywell and the production modules of SAP R/3 as the technology baselines.
Anton Rossouw, project engineer of the MES implementation said "The integrated standard products offer ALBA a lowest total cost of ownership when set against the classic bespoke solutions of the past. Our challenge now is to meet the business expectations within a very tight schedule set by the Line 5 commissioning programme. To achieve this we have assembled a strong team and merged the ALBA team with the Honeywell-AST team. The ALBA team members are directly linked to the business managers to ensure that two-way communications take place throughout the project. We recognise the critical need for user participation as they will become the owners."
The project is expected to be completed in March 2005.
For more information contact Carla Pattison, communications manager, AST 012 675 5681, [email protected], www.ast.co.za, www.acs.honeywell.com
Further reading:
Celebrating three decades of innovation in Africa's premier industrial software conference
News
With a rich 29-year history, the X-Change User Conference stands as Africa's largest and most prestigious annual gathering dedicated to industrial software and related technology. Hosted by Industry Software Solutions & Support (IS
3), this year, X-Change 2024 promises to be even more impactful as it celebrates three decades of innovation and collaboration.
Read more...
4Sight OT Automation achieves prestigious AVEVA Endorsed Partner status
News
4Sight OT Automation, a leading industrial software solutions provider, has achieved Endorsed Partner status within the AVEVA Partner Network.
Read more...
Schneider Electric announces 2023 Global Alliance Partner Programme award winners
Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric has announced the winners of the 2023 Global Alliance Excellence Awards. Throughout 2023, Schneider Electric’s Alliance Partners supported customers in the digitalisation of industrial automation, delivering value with innovative initiatives, solutions and services.
Read more...
Custom containerised lubrication dispensing system
News
Bosch Rexroth Africa recently supplied and installed a customised environmentally friendly and dust-proof lubrication dispensing system for a leading earth-moving equipment supplier.
Read more...
Siemens to acquire industrial drive technology business of ebm-papst
Siemens South Africa
News
Siemens has signed an agreement to acquire the industrial drive technology business of ebm-papst. The business includes intelligent, integrated mechatronic systems in the protective extra-low voltage range and innovative motion control systems.
Read more...
Bearings International fosters a segment strategy
Bearings International
News
Bearings International has a segment approach to the market, which places an intentional focus on key industries in South and sub-Saharan Africa in a bid to optimise operations, enhance uptime, and drive business sustainability and increased profitability outcomes for customers.
Read more...
Local robotics team’s journey to the world stage
News
In the heart of Cape Town, a group of young visionaries aged 12 to 17 is making waves in the world of robotics. Known as Texpand, this team from Pinelands has not only dominated the First Tech Challenge (FTC) in South Africa, but has also earned international acclaim for its innovative approach to engineering and problem solving.
Read more...
RS Group expands by 10 000 products
RS South Africa
News
RS South Africa has announced its Better World Claims Based Framework, enabling customers to select verified sustainable product alternatives. This provides suppliers with a standardised framework to accelerate the development and manufacture of more sustainable and responsible products.
Read more...
IRP 2023 could reset SA’s social and economic problems
News
ACTOM recently held a webinar on the ‘Draft IRP2023 Impact on the Manufacturing Sector’. South Africa’s Draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023 is a key document that outlines a comprehensive strategy for addressing the country’s energy security challenges, while also setting out its transition to a diversified energy mix, including renewables.
Read more...
Young scientists to showcase innovative research
News
Innovative South African research which includes a cost-effective triage test for real-time detection of TB and a nature-based technology that brings about environmental remediation, will be showcased at this year’s International Festival of Engineering, Science and Technology in Tunisia.
Read more...
printer friendly version