The equipment supplied by WEG includes a substation, transformers, distribution panels and control with contactors, smart relays, overload relays, low and medium-voltage inverters, soft starters and motors.
The company Cia. de Cimento Itambé, located in the state of Paraná, Brazil, operates with an annual installed capacity of 1.5 million tons of cement/year.
Aware of the increasing demand from the civil construction market in Brazil, Cia. de Cimento Itambé will increase its capacity of milling and cement production in 85% as of 2012. And the company’s expansion plans, with the building of a third oven, count on WEG solutions for the full supply of energy and drive for the new plant equipment, able to produce over 1.3 million tons of cement a year.
The equipment supplied by WEG includes a substation, transformers, distribution panels and control with contactors, smart relays, overload relays, low and medium-voltage inverters, soft starters and motors which will be already delivered and commissioned in June of this year.
Engineer Hilário Honnicke Júnior, from WEG, says the supply of this full package, from the 138-kV input substation to the motors, reinforces the long partnership between the two companies.
In the assessment of Cia. de Cimento Itambé, keeping business with WEG is an opportunity to standardize the equipment, services and parts. According to the industrial director Alcione Rezende, counting on a single manufacturer reduces the need of spare parts. “WEG, as a technology company and national manufacturer, streamlines the technical assistance, especially by means of its policy of personalized service and quick problem solution”, he says.
For Rezende, the fact that WEG first solves the problems and then evaluates the responsibilities is a great advantage. “We always notice that WEG makes a great effort to be a real partner and technically competitive, which makes it a unique supplier in its field.”
In order to fulfill the needs of Cia. de Cimento Itambé, WEG supplied a specially built motor with IC 511 cooling – an air-air heat exchanger evenly distributed around the machine stator – so as to optimize the thermal exchange and meet the dimensional requirements for this specific application, since the available space to install the motor was limited.
The seven medium-voltage motors supplied for Line 3 (including two spares) are used in the raw mill, exhaust fan, oven exhaust fan and filter exhaust fan.
"The great highlight is the wound-rotor motor MAR710 - 3700 CV supplied to drive the mill. After many analyses together with the engineering department of Cia. de Cimento Itambé, through engineer Luiz Carlos Mosko, WEG developed a motor with a tailor-made frame so as to enable the installation in a very restrict space. The customer was so pleased with the solution that another unit was already purchased in a contingency plan", explains engineer Rafael Fabro de Almeida from WEG.
The 2300 V motors are driven by medium voltage frequency inverters of the MVW-01 line with state-of-the-art technology, which ensures precise speed control with energy saving. The low voltage motors are driven by motor control centers equipped with smart relays of the SRW line, or through inverters of the CFW line, or soft starters of the SSW line, connected in network, ensuring high reliability, control capacity and easy troubleshooting and maintenance.
Future projects
Besides investing significantly in its Concrete Division, with the expansion and modernizing of its equipment, Cia. De Cimento Itambé has new plans. According to the CEO Paulo Aguiar, the company also studies projects in the areas of energy, mining and pozzolan production.
About the cement market, the commercial director Lycio Vellozo says the current situation is very good, with several ongoing constructions and many projects in the housing and infrastructure areas, which are traditionally great consumers.
“Cia. de Cimento Itambé has been preparing to meet this demand for some time, but obviously we are alert to the developments of world economy, which may change the scenario. We decided to expand the milling and cement production capacity in 2008, but that is not all. For several years the company has kept an aggressive training and personnel qualification program. The objective is to qualify everyone so as to better face the new challenges of the present”, he says.
About the company
The plant of Cia. de Cimento Itambé is located in Balsa Nova City, 32 km away from Curitiba City, in Paraná State. In an area of 2.5 million m3, the company operates with an annual installed capacity of 1.5 million tons of cement/year. Its limestone reserves exceed 300 million tons. The company supplies all the South Region of Brazil, producing and selling five kinds of cement.
Summary of the supply scope
- Expansion of the existing substation, supplying 01 tap change under load transformer of 20/25 MVA 138/6.6 kV, yard and construction equipment.
- 29 low voltage motors Wmining IPW-66 for different applications, power rate from 50 cv to 550 cv
- 04 medium voltage wound-rotor motors at 6600 V (with power rates up to 3700 cv) responsible for driving the mills and large fans
- 03 medium voltage wound rotor induction motors at 2300 V (with power rates up to 2400 cv) responsible for driving medium fans
- 24 medium voltage switchgears
- Low voltage switchgear with 30 columns
- Low voltage motor control centers with 95 columns
- 31 low voltage drives
- 02 medium voltage drives at 2300 V
- 09 dry-type transformer of different power rates
- 01 oil transformer
- Smart relays, contactors and overload relays, push buttons and other components
