Expansion work in Krefeld cold rolling plant completed
The NIFO, Nirosta Ferrite Optimization, project reached its final milestone when the construction of the new pickling line was completed at the Krefeld cold rolling plant in Germany.
On July 12, 2016 the NIFO (Nirosta Ferrite Optimization) project reached its final milestone when the construction of the new pickling line was completed at the Krefeld cold rolling plant in Germany. The project moves now to ramp-up phase with the aim of reaching stable operations and quality.
NIFO project is part of a Group-wide programme for Outokumpu to expand the production of ferritic stainless steels in Krefeld. With the ferrite optimization Outokumpu transfers the current production from the Düsseldorf-Benrath cold rolling plant to Krefeld.
The NIFO investment consisted of four initiatives to expand and enhance the production capabilities in Krefeld: erection of a new pickling and bright annealing line, construction of a new batch annealing facility and several upgrade measures at the cold rolling and skinpass mills.
Last line taken into use
As a final step in the production line installations, the first coil left the new pickling line in the presence of around 70 invited guests and employees last week on July 12.
Earlier in the summer the team in Krefeld also celebrated the inauguration of the new batch annealing and bright annealing lines. With the completion of the new pickling line, all production lines are now up and running.<
“We have reached the first important milestones in NIFO in the form of the first coils. Next in the ramp-up phase we will focus on reaching the planned volumes with good safety, quality and speed. With our professional team and equipment, I’m sure we will make it happen,” says Robert Sträßer, head of Krefeld Operations.
Planned to perfection
The NIFO project team can be pleased with their achievement since the project has been completed on schedule, and all installation and construction work was carried out in a planned timeframe of two years.
“Worth noting is that the project has been carried out in a running production environment. In the past 2 years, we had about 350 companies with over 2600 people working in the middle of the plant. It has surely been an excellent planning and coordination from our small project team to get this huge project managed in a safe manner, on time and in budget,” says Jörg Maas, Head of the NIFO project.
Customer event planned
Now that all stages of the NIFO project are completed, Outokumpu is planning to hold a customer event towards end of the year to mark this special occasion, present our enhanced offering and continue dialogue with our customers how we can continue to work together to find new solutions.
The new lines in Krefeld have an improved capability to produce ferritic grades that are used for example in the white goods industry, automotive and construction.
Published jul. 14, 2016