New 90 Inch Foil Mill for GRÄNGES AMERICAS

MINO have successfully completed the flagship project for a new wide, fast thin strip/foil rolling mill for : GRÄNGES AMERICAS. The mill was installed in 2019 and completed in 2020. The mill has been accepted is early 2020 and is now continually breaking shift records for production.

The mill rolls wide sheet 90inch/2,286mm for various Foil applications including Automotive Heat Exchanger material. This has been a highly successful expansion of the aluminium rolling plant in Huntingdon, TN. The MINO mill is the most advanced high-performance, high speed 4-high mill operating in North America. With the latest rolling technologies and process control systems from MINO, powerful AC drives and advanced automation this mill is now the ‘flagship’ for Granges Americas plant. To allow the mill to roll at very high speeds of 1800 m/min (5500 ft/min) the latest generation of MINO Process Control’s Avanti™ TCS system will control flatness and thickness is used to control the process.

This project marks a significant expansion by MINO into the North American market, and indicates a shift in investment in the aluminium rolling sector which returns to the the USA after many decades of retraction. The trend for manufacturing is set to continue and MINO will be at the forefront of this exciting trend.

First coil rolled on the third new mill for Yinbang Aluminium, China

After the highly successful installation of a wide (2,500mm) Six-High Cold Rolling Mill in 2013 and a Foil Mill in 2014, MINO has completed the third newly supplied mill at Yinbang Aluminium. The mill is fully accepted and becomes the second new Foil Mill to be installed in their Wuxi production plant.

The mill is supplied with MINO’s latest technologies developed for foil rolling, including a hot edge spray system designed to relieve high tensile stress at the strip edges which allows stable rolling conditions at high speeds. Advanced electro/mechanical solutions allow the mill to control and produce high quality material over a wide range of strip thicknesses and widths.

MINO is delighted to be selected by Yinbang for a third time with a new foil rolling mill at Yinbang Aluminium. Repeat orders from the Customer are always a sure sign that the level of quality of MINO mills reaches the Customer’s demanding quality standards and satisfaction.

Key data of the new Foil Roughing Mill:
Type of alloys AA1XXX, AA3XXX, AA5XXX, AA6XXX, AA8XXX series alloys
Max. entry strip width 1,500mm
Max. entry strip thickness 1.2mm
Min. exit strip thickness 0.03mm
Max. coil weight 18t
Max. rolling force 1,000t
Max. rolling speed 1,500m/min

Working at Mino Process Control

New recruits to Mino Process Control can expect to be integrated into the engineering team from day one. We look to embrace both the skilled and the inexperienced. Training at our office based is mixed with client visits and site experiences. The majority of clients we serve are overseas and hence international travel is an essential part of the job. Working with engineers in their plant locations is always stimulating and challenging. Cultures and practices can be alien but in reality the same goals are sought. Teams are formed, relationships built which form bonds and friendships which last a lifetime. Projects can be merely an upgrade or part of a larger manufacturing plant greenfield site build. Our projects are satisfying and provide piece of mind. You build, install and start large complex machines with state of the art technology. Watch it run, sign off and celebrate another successful project.

Mino Process Control provides not only services to new clients but also to existing. Our engineers support clients through remote connections to existing client installations. Software upgrades can be loaded and transferred, commissioned and run from our office here in the UK. During the pandemic we engaged with our client base and provided remote support in Europe, USA, China and India. Our reach and impact with high speed connectivity and data transfer has revolutionised the way clients receive software upgrades and commission these improvements.

With engineering teams located in China, Europe and North America we can provide a unique local service combined with a full suite of engineering skill sets from our base here in the UK. The combination allows our engineers to work effectively and efficiently without actually leaving the their office station. Whilst practical and on site intervention is always part of the essential service we provide, remote support and servicing is now a firm option for many clients.

First coil for MINO Cold rolling mill at Bridgnorth Aluminium

Bridgnorth Alumnium and MINO have successfully rolled the first coil with the radically modernised and upgraded cold rolling mill installed in the new Litho centre expansion at Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited (BAL). The mill originally operated at a plant in Northern Spain until its closure in 2013. BAL purchased the mill with the intention to re-install at its newly finished Litho sheet expansion in Shropshire, England. After purchase and removal from Spain, a contract was placed with MINO of Italy for a radical and extensive modernisation of the mill. The mill was then taken to MINO’s workshop for a thorough check and inspection prior to re-engineering and modernisation. Substantial surgery was made to all areas of the mill and large parts of the existing assemblies were scrapped, redesigned and replaced. The mill will form a cornerstone of the new expansion with an expected throughput of over 70,000 tonnes per year.

Elval of Greece awards new contract to MINO

Elval (Hellenic Aluminium) of Greece awarded MINO SpA of Italy the contract to upgrade its IHI cold rolling mill. The mill, which rolls aluminium strip, required modernisation with an emphasis on replacement of the process control systems to improve reliability, productivity and quality.

The first phase of the project has now been completed with the installation of a new MINO AVANTI technological control system, designed and built by MINO Process Control in the UK. Additionally, a new high resolution shape meter roll, roll coolant spray bars, X ray thickness gauges and new laser strip speed measurement devices were also installed. The spray bar system includes the MINO 'hot edge spray' system (H.E.S) for greater thermal control of the strip edge during high speed rolling. The H.E.S includes the latest in line MINO hot coolant delivery system for heating the rolling oil to dedicated spray nozzles.

The new 'Avanti' system includes the latest software control applications for AGC including Mass Flow and Feed Forward thickness control, complemented by the MINO advanced flatness control.

Also included in the improvements to the exit side of the rolling mill is a strip surface dryness system to remove residue rolling oil from the sheet surface before coiling. This equipment was designed and built in MINO's workshop based at its HQ in Alessandria, Italy.

Other improvements to the rolling mill will follow in phase two of the project.

This project is part of a strategic investment for Elval to improve one of its key rolling mill assets producing high added value sheet products.

This award to MINO follows on from the project under construction at Elval's sister plant in Bridgnorth, UK where MINO are contracted to make a total rebuild of a cold rolling mill for the Bridgnorth plant.