Columbus Stainless, part of the Acerinox group, has awarded VAI UK, the UK-based subsidiary of Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau, a contract to upgrade the anneal & pickling line no. 2 at its works in Middelburg, South Africa. The line was originally supplied by VAI in 1995. The project is part of a plant-wide effort to increase output of the Columbus facility from 450,000 to 750,000 tonnes by 2004. Columbus intends to convert the combination anneal & pickle line no. 2 into a purely cold anneal & pickle line that will produce high-quality stainless steel finished product directly from the line without further processing. The VAI UK scope of supply includes in-line skinpass mill, tension leveller, side trimming facility, two looper upgrades to 6 strand and one new looper. Conversion of the existing level 2 automation into VAI’s level 2 system is also included. Staff from VAI UK’s Bournemouth office will execute the GBP 8 million project, which was won against strong international competition.
