Siemens closes the production management information gap with reliable solution

Provides transparency of entire production process from raw materials to finished products for leading supplier to China’s stainless-steel industry

Minimum downtime and the optimum use of staff and resources are key to sustainable success in the minerals and mining industries. To achieve this, the Mintal Group Ferrochrome Science and Technology Co. Ltd. is closing the often-significant information gap regarding production planning, quality, production execution and material logistics that can exist between customer Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and plant automation systems. For this, Siemens will design, engineer and commission a new production management system (PMS), based on the Siemens Minerals Operation Management Solution. With technology-based services throughout the lifecycle of an industrial plant, Siemens provides the basis for greater productivity, flexibility, and efficiency – reliably, globally and around-the-clock.

his project for the leading supplier of Ferrochrome to major stainless-steel producers in China, enables a more unified planning and business-level insights based on integrated, current and actionable data drawn from the customer’s information system from Mintal ERP software and that of other business functions, and its plant automation, which is based on Siemens Simatic PCS 7.

The new PMS will provide a fast and powerful tool for improving the product manufacturing experience and production management. Featuring the framework and functionality of Minerals MES, it will be optimized to the production-process characteristics of chrome ore pellets and high carbon ferrochrome. The collaborative management of equipment, personnel, materials and other resources will enable the Mintal Group to achieve a complete picture of production scheduling and control, equipment operation and maintenance cycle management, material and production quality control.

Mintal Group Ferrochrome Science and Technology Co. Ltd. is a new metallurgical Sino-foreign joint venture invested by five China Minerals Corporation and Goldman Sachs. Mintal Group Chromium Industry Technology Co., Ltd. is located in Jiuyuan District Industrial Park, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, and is the largest chrome alloy manufacturer in China.