Votorantim Cimentos Maximizes Alternative Fuel Benefits with ABB's cpmPlus Expert Optimizer
Upgrade improves reliability and efficiency of alternative fuel use for Votorantim's Itau and Salto plants in Brazil
Baden, Switzerland, February 12, 2010 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced today the successful upgrade of its Expert Optimizer solution at two of Votorantim's plants in Brazil. Expert Optimizer was first installed at the plants in 1995 when the product was still known as LINKman. The latest version to be installed is cpmPlus Expert Optimizer version 6.0.
Votorantim Cimentos (Votorantim Cements) was founded in 1936, is part of the Votorantim Group and is one of the ten largest global cement, concrete and mortar companies. Votorantim Cimentos invests heavily in innovation, technology and automation of its plants in order to ensure quality and improve its competitiveness.
Votorantim was motivated to upgrade to the latest version of Expert Optimizer at its Itau and Salto plants, as the existing third party hardware was now 14 years old. The Salto plant's upgrade was completed in October 2008 and the Itau plant's upgrade was completed in February 2009.
Since the upgrade was completed, the Itau and Salto plants have seen a host of benefits. Both plants now have more stable use and control of the burning of alternative fuels, with less disruption to the process. This has allowed both plants to increase the amount of alternative fuels they use, which in turn is having a positive impact on reducing production costs. Expert Optimizer, part of ABB's CPM Minerals suite of solutions, ensures that the kiln is operated under optimum conditions according to the customer's goals. At the Itau and Salto plants this has meant that the energy spikes created by burning alternative fuels, especially tires, are anticipated and therefore managed by Expert Optimizer.
Also of major importance to Votorantim was the ability to upgrade from the earlier version of Expert Optimizer installed at both plants, to the latest version of Expert Optimizer, without losing any of the site-specific features that had been incorporated in the earlier version. ABB's upgrade approach successfully preserved more than ten years of knowledge of the previous version, while simultaneously bringing the operators access to the latest technologies incorporated in Expert Optimizer, like Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Mixed Logical Dynamic (MLD) systems.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs more than 120,000 people.
