Saudi Arabia success for ABB
Company improves functionality of cement production lines for Eastern Province Cement Co. (EPCC) in Al Khursaniyah
ABB, a leading specialist in power and automation technology, have recently completed an extensive upgrade of their Extended Automation System 800xA to the latest standards at EPCC’s three cement production lines in Saudi Arabia.
Outdated hardware and software were known to potentially impact the plant’s reliability and availability. To avoid unexpected shutdowns and improve the functionality of the cement production lines, EPCC decided to modernize the process control system.
The evolution with the latest operating features from ABB will help the cement firm produce at the highest level of efficiency and quality to meet various international standards.
‘ABB have completed the final upgrade on site in a record time during the planned maintenance shutdown of the plant,’ said Mohammad Arif Khan, electrical and instrumentation manager at EPCC. ‘The excellent team work between EPCC and ABB engineers made it possible to meet this challenge.’
The supply included the evolution of Extended Automation System 800xA licences, a state-of-the-art computer, laboratory and raw meal proportioning system hardware, as well as project management, engineering and site services such as training.
The modernization follows a previous process control system upgrade of the production lines number one and two in 2003, as well as equipment deliveries for the extension of the plant with line number 3 in 2005.
‘ABB’s process automation solutions will allow EPCC to achieve optimal operational conditions,’ said Albert Braun, ABB market segment manager for cement. ‘Our well established relationship with the customer combined with ABB’s long-term experience with the cement production process were major factors for winning this order.’
EPCC started commercial production in 1985 with an annual production of 2.2 million tons of clinker and 860,000 tons of cement. Today, annual capacity reaches 3.5 million tons of clinker and 3.7 million tons of cement.
