Control Techniques' flagship Unidrive M700 extends service life and minimise downtime.

Africa's only producer of stainless steel flat products, Columbus Stainless, has been using Control Techniques’ drives for over 20 years to ensure its operations run smoothly. Recently, the Control Techniques team used its expert engineering capabilities to upgrade the plant’s ladle cranes’ main hoist. 

The site’s gantry cranes are critical to production and carry between 110 and 115 tons of molten steel in ladles across the plant. The motors' control technology needed replacing to keep the facility future-fit and avoid breakdowns caused by obsolete technology.

The solution for this application included two Unidrive M700 units connected in parallel, each driving a 250 kW 8-pole IMfinity premium efficiency induction motor. The M700 AC drive is a high-performance motor control system that provides ultimate control flexibility in high specification industrial applications.

The ladle cranes at Columbus Stainless have been operating for approximately 25 years and still have many years of service life ahead if supported by the right technology. The new technology not only has the potential to improve uptime, but it also offers added benefits from an intelligent, compact design and connectivity.

Stef Du Toit, Columbus Stainless Cranes Engineer, says, "The local availability of the technology is a bonus. These drives are vital to our production efficiency, as we must minimise downtime as much as possible. The accessibility of spares and support in-country is a huge benefit to us."

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