Remote preparation to modernize an FTC in Oman
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In 2020, we were able to support our customers to continue their industrial activities thanks to our accelerated innovation, notably in the field of digital technology, combined with the involvement of our teams and real proximity with our customers through our service Subsidiaries.
Fives’ Aluminium Division specializes in designing and supplying process equipment and complete installations to produce primary aluminium. Alongside this, Fives has developed a range of equipment and associated services to meet the higher standards and needs of customers in terms of performance, product quality, environmental footprint and cost savings.
In an environment marked by the sanitary crisis leading to a significant decline in global demand, notably in the automotive and aeronautics industries, Fives' Aluminium activity declined significantly. Aluminium stock surplus did not encourage industrial investment.
The events of 2020 represented a sizable challenge for engineering and service teams, which used new working methods to ensure continuity of projects and services. Thanks to remote assistance and collaborative tools, a virtual presence on site could be ensured, and complex tasks continued to be handled in close collaboration with customers. All over the world, Fives experts rallied to help aluminium producers to operate their facilities and to maintain their production with various remote maintenance services: inspection and receipt acceptance of equipment, assistance with installing new tools on overhead cranes, commissioning installations in real-time, audits, monitoring modernization projects, inspection and assistance with equipment start-up.
The Fives Aluminium Division is fully committed to its digital transformation, to better support its customers and tackle the challenges of the pandemic. Beyond simple use of connected devices, remote assistance is also about adding value to production, which is accompanied by secure IT technologies, but also expertise thanks to access to relevant information.
Fives has established a partnership with the Trimet plant in St Jean de Maurienne to test SMARTCrane, its equipment maintenance assistance tool, which provides continual real-time data. This partnership helps deploy a custom tool which meets customer needs.
Based on a network of Fives Aluminium experts worldwide, with over 200 people dedicated to the service, and Fives workshops where spare part production continued in 2020, aluminium producers were able to optimize operations and continue to produce aluminium in the best conditions.
In a rapidly changing industrial environment (new players, new challenges), Fives has reiterated its commitment to institutions and its customers, to improve their processes and the energy and environmental performance of their facilities.
Fives' Cement #&# Minerals Division offer ranges from design to supply and the turnkey installation of process equipment, grinding workshops and complete cement lines, plus the associated services. Fives offers technologies at the heart of the process: crushing, grinding, classification, drying, pyroprocessing, filtration and gaz treatment.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the cement sector from Q1 2020, leading to a 20% decline in global cement production compared to 2019. The gradual recovery of economic activities and the resilience of some markets, thanks to cement prices being maintained and the decline in costs (notably energy) helped limit the decline in global production to between -4 and -5% on average over the year. Geopolitical uncertainties and production overcapacity also failed to encourage new investments by producers which, with the exception of some regional players, have suspended or delayed their investments pending better visibility.
Alongside this, and in view of reinforced regulations to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, new investment strategies have emerged amongst cement producers to seek solutions to reduce their emissions and carbon footprint, and limit their exposure to CO2 quotas.
That is why the Division’s projects are focused on grinding workshops, notably in Central America where Fives FCB won two new contracts, equipment projects in Europe and Brazil, or clay activation projects in France.
Regarding projects in progress, teams have continued work at sites in Hidalgo and Lagunas (Mexico), Chlef (Algeria) and Portes-lès-Valence (France).
Now a major environmental issue, climate action requires a reduction in CO2 emissions. This objective is a core priority of Fives customers, notably cement producers.
Fives’ willingness to support the cement industry with eco-responsible technologies is reflected in its commitment to institutions like the European Cement Research Academy, the World Cement Association or the TEAM2 competitiveness cluster, which have made sustainable development and reduced carbon footprint their mission.
Alongside this, a significant portion of Fives R#&#D relates to the development of processes to reduce emissions, maximize the use of alternative fuels and produce alternative materials to traditional cement.
Fives is proud to support cement producers by proposing solutions offering the best performance in terms of product quality, energy efficiency and low CO2 emissions: FCB Horomill® grinding workshop, clay activator, FCB Rhodax® for concrete recycling, etc.
The Energy Division has demonstrated its resilience, engagement and ingenuity to keep operating during the pandemic and fulfill its commitments. Expansion of the combustion offer in India and China via synergies is a strong area of development, as well as the digitalization of services and our advances in cryogenics and hydrogen.
Within the Energy Division, Fives designs, supplies and maintains equipment in:
Combustion experienced a slowdown of works on site, but accelerated the development of solutions with lower emissions to reduce our customers’ environmental footprint: Pillard NOVAFLAM® Evolution in cement, ITAS Ductflame for hot air generators and the EcoFornax™ ultra-low NOx burner range.
Cryogenics had a strong activity for exchangers and pumps, notably in Asia in the industrial gas liquefaction market. In India, Fives teams implemented a strict sanitary protocol to finish the installation of five cold boxes for the most important ethylene production capacity. It will be started up in late 2021.
The Fives Energy | Sugar business line successfully completed the delivery of process equipment for the Kristall crystallization workshop in Kirsanov, Russia.
Finally, for Piping Solutions, the activity evened out for the year with excellent performance in the general industry and nuclear sectors. 2020 also marked the launch of the "Académie Fives Nordon", a training organization focused on the metallurgy business.
In 2020, the travel restrictions and difficulties accessing customer sites led to the widespread roll-out of remote maintenance, notably thanks to connected glasses. Webinars were organized to train local operators and remain close to customers.
The Fives Connect customer portal is now available for online ordering and payment of spare parts for Cryomec® pumps. Users can also access information on their equipment.
A new service (Fives Cryosens) was also developed to monitor and analyze heat exchanger operation and predict maintenance needs.
In Sugar, the teams continue to digitalize their services offer to optimize management of their customers' installed base.
Finally, new digital tools combining innovation, data acquisition and artificial intelligence are being deployed at Piping Solutions to improve project management.
I am proud of the fact we managed to stay our course and all we have achieved in 2020, despite the odds. We signed new contracts, delivered equipment, took care of our people in the field, and served our customers with strength, determination and resilience. I’m positive we will rebound in the steel, tube and glass sectors in the short term.
2020 was a year like no other for all our businesses. Despite the impediments of the pandemic, we managed to win contracts to supply new reheating furnaces to Çolakoğlu in Turkey and Cognor in Poland, as well as to revamp reheating furnaces at JSW Steel in India and at CELSA in France and Spain. An important contract for our breakthrough digital technology – intelligent integrated quality management system – was signed with AS Terni in Italy to manage product and process quality in real time.
We continued to provide our technologies for high-end markets, such as electrical motors, and were contracted to supply strip processing lines for production of highly demanding silicon steel in China.
Our tube mill orders stayed high, with contracts from all our customers in Europe and the Americas, as well as several orders for straightening machines in India.
We also secured a number of pre-engineering studies for several projects, including a float glass line in Brazil.
Winning contracts in a pandemic is one thing, delivering on them is something else. We had to manage a new set of complex sanitary and mobility constraints on a daily basis. As manufacturing activities were impacted by the crisis, our supply chain teams were able to develop a number of counter-measures to ensure timely delivery of our equipment, such as those for a large-size reheating furnace in Russia, as well as tube mills and finishing equipment into the USA and Russia.
Our field engineers also commissioned two new galvanizing lines in the USA and achieved a major industrial first by putting into service our new non-oxidizing Wet FlashCooling® technology enabling the production of ultra-advanced high-strength steels. Our teams also overcame border restrictions and quarantines in order to commission a number of cold rolling mills for stainless and silicon steels in China.
Fives was honoured by Fastmarkets Global Awards for Steel Excellence, receiving industrial recognition in two categories. This prestigious acknowledgement identifies world-class innovations and excellence for companies throughout the steel industry.
Winner - Technology Provider of the Year
Fives received the award as a Technology Provider of the Year for its ground-breaking heat treatment technologies - FlashCooling®, ultra-rapid cooling for advanced high-strength steel, and CELES EcoTransFlux™, high power transverse flux induction for rapid heating cycles - as well as for a real-time quality management system Eyeron™ which provides full traceability of all process steps and quality events from the melt shop through the cold rolling and processing lines. Those technologies enable steel makers to improve operational efficiency and increase the quality of finished products.
Winner (Joint Award) - Information Technology Services Provider
As a collaborative initiative, Fives and Marcegaglia developed the SmartLine, a fully automatic strip processing line control system based on predictive modelling, which was commissioned at Marcegaglia’s continuous galvanizing line in Ravenna, Italy. Find out more
Fives received the award as a Technology Provider of the Year for its ground-breaking heat treatment technologies - FlashCooling®, ultra-rapid cooling for advanced high-strength steel, and CELES EcoTransFlux™, high power transverse flux induction for rapid heating cycles - as well as for a real-time quality management system Eyeron™ which provides full traceability of all process steps and quality events from the melt shop through the cold rolling and processing lines. Those technologies enable steel makers to improve operational efficiency and increase the quality of finished products.
Winner (Joint Award) - Information Technology Services Provider
As a collaborative initiative, Fives and Marcegaglia developed the SmartLine, a fully automatic strip processing line control system based on predictive modelling, which was commissioned at Marcegaglia’s continuous galvanizing line in Ravenna, Italy. Find out more