production
WEG solution increases efficiency and production for Metals industry plant
Creating efficient and increasingly sustainable products is one of WEG’s commitments. With this focus in mind the company supplied a package of products to help increase the efficiency and production of the metals plant Bocaiuva – RIMA Industrial S.A, located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The package includes an electric motor, a variable frequency drive and a motor control center.
Within the supply package, the WEG 1500 HP, 8 poles, 60 Hz, 4160 V, frame size 500 Master line motor will be driving the exhaust of the oven dedusting system. Standing out for its electrical and mechanical design flexibility and high performance, the motor complies with international standards requirements in addition to being in line with world trends. Interchangeable with the existing motors is another feature of this product, allowing further replacement with other electric motors, whenever required.
The motor will be fully controlled by the WEG MVW 3000 frequency drive in terms of load variations and speed modulation resulting in energy savings for the customer. The WEG MVW 3000 frequency drive was designed to drive, protect and monitor all types of applications, including the critical with high output power requirements such as large mining machines driven by one or multiple motors in load sharing.
Designed with state-of-the-art components and supported by a high performance and powerful focused engineering, the variable frequency drive provides reliable system operation and major equipment availability to the user, meeting the highest quality standards expected by the world industry.
This supply strengthens the expertise and quality of WEG products for the steel industrial segment. In addition, the choice of WEG products provides the customer with all technical support and after-sales service for greater operational reliability for the equipment.
WEG is part of the world’s unique and innovative production system for electric mobility
The e-Consortium and e-Delivery mark the beginning of a new era of products and solutions for the transportation and logistics ecosystem in Brazil. Innovation is in the DNA not only of Volkswagen Trucks and Buses, but also of the companies that joined this renown vehicles producer to offer true consulting technologies to turn the electric mobility a reality in Brazil.
Launched in 2019, the innovative e-Consortium follows the Modular Consortium arrangement, which is a unique production system in the world since its creation. As a member of the e-Consortium, WEG will be supplying the main Powertrain system, consisting of an electric traction motor plus a frequency drive as well as electric motors and frequency inverters for auxiliary systems.
For e-Delivery, WEG, together with VWCO Engineering, developed a customized solution for the application, meeting the most demanding automotive requirements.
As stated by Manfred Peter Johann, Managing Director of WEG Automation, the long tradition in developing electric traction systems for buses, trolleybuses, trains, ships and boats, as well as systems for recharging electric vehicles allows WEG to advance with series manufacturing of Powertrain System for urban delivery electric vehicles. “Our experience in this electric mobility market has brought us to an outstanding performance. Our innovative Powertrain technology, duly designed and tested over the years, allowed us to take part of this technological cooperation project. In association with this e-Consortium group, we are doing our best to take the transportation industry in Brazil to higher levels”, says Manfred.
Dry transformers allow Electrolux’s production capacity expansion
Regarded as a home appliance manufacturing company, Electrolux do Brasil S.A is planning to expand its production capacity. For this to happen safely and effectively, ensuring manufacturing process competitiveness, they purchased two 34.5/11.9kV with 15MVA dry transformers from WEG. Both machines will be delivered this June at the São Carlos, state of São Paulo, manufacturing plant.
These transformers will supply loads that are connected to more than 10 transformers with voltage class of 11.9kV, which are installed in the Electrolux plant. The differential feature of these large dry transformers is the configuration with Degree of Protection IP-54, suitable for unprotected environment application, besides providing low installation cost and ease of maintenance.
Additional benefits generated by this supply include manufacturing process reliability, energy cost savings as well as power distribution consistency to avoid voltage peaks caused by the 11.9kV power supply directly through the local network, which is one of ANEEL’s (Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency) requirements for customers with demands above 5MW.
WEG supplies a big package of electric motors to the largest oil and gas production platform in Brazil
WEG will be supplying about 40 MV electric motors with rated output up to 13,400 kW, over 100 LV electric motors and five MV variable speed drives (three of them with 11,723 kW rated output) for the largest oil and gas platform in Brazil.
These products, which are already being produced at the WEG manufacturing site located in Jaraguá do Sul/SC, Brazil, will be supplied through compressor and pump manufacturers from Europe and Asia, and will be driving these machineries at Bacalhau oilfield.
Designed for the Santos Basin pre-salt and with the first oil production scheduled between 2023/2024, the new platform will have a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day and 15 million m³ per day of natural gas.
In the last decade WEG has consolidated itself as the world’s largest supplier of electric motors for oil and gas FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) platforms, mainly due to the high technology used in its products and high operating reliability.
“For projects like this, where final destination is Brazil, our customers can also count on the largest local service structure with highly trained and qualified engineers to provide prompt support in case of any need,” says Elder Stringari, WEG´s International Director.
WEG and Vale partnership starts production of E-Houses in Minas Gerais
The new WEG manufacturing site, installed in Betim, state of Minas Gerais, will be holding the manufacture of 69 Central Solar E-Houses for the mining company Vale. The contract signed with Vale has been a key factor for WEG’s decision to invest in Minas Gerais, generating 100 new jobs and fostering technological development in the state. The factory counts on 5000 square meters of manufacturing facilities for the production of central solar E-Houses and industrial E-Houses.
The package of equipment for Vale is scheduled to be delivered from the second half of this year for Sol do Cerrado Project, in the municipality of Jaíba, northern region of the state. The mining company’s project will occupy an area of over 1200 hectares and will be one of the largest photovoltaic energy generation parks in Brazil, with an installed capacity of 766 Megawatts-peak (MWp) and an energy generating capacity of 1.6 Gigawatts-hour per year (GWh / year). Operations are scheduled to start in the second half of 2022.
Vale’s investments in this Sol do Cerrado Project is in the range of US$ 500 million. “The efforts are intended to promote social and economic development in the regions where Vale holds its operations. In addition to generating more than a thousand jobs in the implementation phase of the project, with priority given to hiring local labor force, Vale felt honored to have collaborated with WEG´s important strategic decision, which will not only serve the Sol do Cerrado Project , but it will contribute to the technological development of Minas Gerais ”, says Marco Braga, Vale´s Supply Chain Director. Last year, the Vale invested about R$ 15 billion in purchases from state of Minas Gerais suppliers.
WEG will supply E-Houses with central solar frequency drives, which will transform the energy generated in the photovoltaic modules, allowing it to be availability into the Brazilian electrical interconnected grid for distribution and consumption. “This equipment is fully designed and manufactured in Brazil. The production of these E-Houses will already take place at our new plant in Betim, state of Minas Gerais. The contract not only starts the operations of our new factory, but also evidences our expertise to offer efficient solutions for such important project”, explains Manfred Peter Johann, Managing Director of WEG Automation Business Unit.
Considered one of the most innovative companies in Brazil, WEG is a traditional provider of complete solutions for the solar energy segment. The company´s history of supplying EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contracts has not only supported WEG to participate in the construction of strategic solar parks in Brazil, but it has also helped to create new business opportunities with supply of equipment for new plants.
Orquídea increases food production with Bônus Motor program
Tondo S/A counts on one of the highest wheats milling operating capacities in the southern region of Brazil, delivering around 36 thousand tons per month. With more than 33 thousand m² (355209,04 sq. Ft), the company has factories in Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, in addition to Distribution Centers in Garibaldi (RS), Tijucas (SC), Curitiba (PR) and São Paulo (SP). Through Orquídea brand´s consolidation, the company continually gained market with the production of pasta, cookies, traditional and special flours, among other wheat-related products.
At a challenging period like this the world is experiencing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the food industry needed to remain at non-stop operation in order to guarantee food supply for the population. To increase its competitiveness, Orquídea took the opportunity to participate in the Bônus Motor program, which is an initiative of the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL), carried out in partnership by CPFL Energia and WEG to encourage the replacement of standard efficiency electric motors, currently in operation, by modern and energy-saving electric motors, with a discount up to 40%.
In addition to reducing electricity costs in the use of more efficient motors, Orquídea implemented an important solution of the fourth industrial revolution: WEG Motor Fleet Management, to provide greater operational savings and productivity for the maintenance team when implementing predictive actions based on the status of the electric motors currently operating in the plant.
Improved efficiency on food production
Upon detecting the need of higher operating reliability of the equipment, the company found out that the high number of stops was due to motor failures. Based on this finding, Orquídea followed and completed all stages of the Bônus Motor program and then they received the CPFL / RGE discount.
In this supply package, the customer got a 40% discount on the purchase of 73 new electric motors, from the W22 IR3 Premium line, meeting the new minimum efficiency level for low voltage electric motors in Brazil, in force since August 30, 2019. The new motors will operate in Vacuum Pumps, Hydraulic Pumps, Fans, Mixers, Blowers and Elevators, allowing the production of pasta, removing and filtering solid particles from the environment and transporting raw materials for the entire production process.
Orquídea is ready for Industry 4.0
To become a reference as Industry 4.0 in food production, Orquídea implemented in its plant the WEG Motor Fleet Management, which is an IoT solution developed to increase operational efficiency in the management and maintenance of assets. The solution consists of the installation of WEG Motor Scan® sensors for periodic and continuous collection of data such as vibration, temperature, Status (on/off), Estimated speed (RPM), Estimated Frequency (Hz), Table of Events with notifications via e- mail, Threshold for Healthy Condition (Good, Alert, Critical), and operating time of the electric motors to predict potential failures.
With the application of WEG Motor Fleet Management, data is made available to maintenance and service team who can perform predictive maintenance based on online monitoring of electric motors status. This accessibility to online data brings lots of benefits, including increase of maintenance efficiency, maximization of assets utilization and particularly the increase of the equipment availability and reliability. Currently the system monitors more than 40 electric motors from Orquídea production plant through WEG Motor Scan® sensors and Gateways for automatic data collection.
As stated by Anderson Santos, Orquídea´s Maintenance and Service Supervisor, the main challenge for the maintenance team is to provide production reliability, with reduction of operating costs, and the WEG solutions implemented in the factory are collaborating for this. Through the new platform, asset management has become much easier since this platform allows the analysis of important diagnoses for maintenance planning and decision making. WEG Motor Fleet Management proved to be most effective solution for monitoring electric motors among other tested resources.
Higher savings for the food industry
Potentially the savings to be achieved with the implementation of these solutions is 378,902.79kWh a year. In reference to this project, the bonus amount achieved was R$113,418.08 (USD 20,542.00) from ANEEL´s Energy Efficiency Program, plus an amount of R$19,295.00 (USD 3500.00) from the WEG Replacement Plan. The new motors, correctly specified by WEG, will contribute to increase reliability and availability of the equipment as well as reducing production downtime.
The company’s Maintenance Supervisor sees a good number of advantages while participating in the project: “after replacing the motors, we had electricity gains in our operation by spending less kW/h per ton produced and there were also no more reports of equipment breakdowns replaced motors. For Orquídea, projects for the best use of assets are a great satisfaction and the main objective of the company, which is to generate results and look forward”, says Anderson Santos.
For WEG, operating a program such as Bônus Motor, in partnership with CPFL Energia, is another source of pride, as the program will allow replacement of thousands of electric motors, contributing to the increase of energy efficiency levels in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul. CPFL and RGE customers can register consumer units and join the electric motors replacing program through the website www.bonusmotor.com.br.
WEG equipment doubles thermoelectric power plant capacity in a food production company
Based on reports issued by ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency), Brazil counts today on 3171 thermoelectric power plants with over 52 million kW of installed capacity, representing about 24.4% of the power supply matrix. To serve this important market, WEG has continuously developed integrated and efficient solutions.
Regarded as the largest potato producer and processor in the country, Bem Brasil has invested in the generation of its own energy, and with the objective of duplicating the power of one of their thermoelectric plants, they partnered with WEG to acquire a package of products that would meet their needs. With this partnership, WEG will supply lots of equipment; a turbogenerator set, transformers, rectifier sets, battery banks, and many others.
The generation of their own power supply will safely allow Bem Brasil to operate their power plant, in addition to reducing electricity bills and the costs for the company´s final products. This solution also allows the company to sell the surplus of generated power, resulting in many savings.
“It is a significant investment for a complete solution. The generator particularly is an electric machine where its operating temperature remains below the temperature limit of the insulation class. In other words, its cooler operation results in extended machine lifetime, adding value to the plant. The steam turbine is designed with reaction technology, which makes it more efficient. In practical terms, the customer spends less fuel to generate the electric power he needs. Another benefit is that the turbine will supply steam to the process, turning it even more efficient”, says Paulo Sinoti, WEG Energy Business Director.
The power transformers provided are designed to guarantee high performance in a wide range applications and market segments, complying with the specific requirements of each company. In addition, WEG´s manufacturing process verticalization (own manufacture of electro-insulating varnish, electrical conductors, tanks, insulating kits, paints, etc.) is a unique feature of the company, which allows for extensive quality control at different production stages and delivery time flexibility.
The delivery of the WEG solutions package is scheduled for April of this year, to Bem Brasil plant in Perdizes, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.