• Global building materials supplier Cemex modernizes electrical infrastructure at its Poland plant for greater safety and reliability
• ABB’s retrofit solution features Emax2 circuit breakers with Ekip Touch for full protection and new technologies that reduce energy consumption
• Retrofit future-proofs operation, updating analog equipment with digital functionality for advanced asset monitoring
Credit: ABB
Global building materials supplier Cemex is committed to providing innovative and sustainable products for the construction industry and when their own sites require solutions, they prioritise sustainable development, as well prioritizing reliability and safety.
Cemex’s Rudniki plant in Poland is one of the country’s largest cement suppliers and a leading producer of four types of cement as well as road binder and limestone flour. Production processes center around the plant’s furnace which can take up to 36 hours to light, so even short power outages which don’t require it to completely cool down are unfeasible as they bring production to a standstill.
ABB has a 10-year history of providing trusted service support to Cemex. When it came to upgrading the electrical switchgear powering the furnace at the Rudniki plant, ABB tailored a retrofit solution updating only obsolete elements and enabling access to ABB’s digital portfolio – not only lowering costs associated with replacing the entire switchgear but also delivering on the plant’s need for a smooth transition, ongoing reliability and sustainability.
Cemex maintenance specialist Paweł Małolepszy explains; “We were looking for reliable and compact technology. The risk of unplanned power outages has been minimized and the use of a pull-out solution has improved our safety. This significantly extends the continuity of operation of the furnace, which is key to our business”.
The retrofit solution involved an upgrade to ABB’s Emax2 circuit breakers equipped with Ekip Touch. These state-of-the-art protection and measurement trip units provide full protection functions, and their modular design means they are withdrawable and can be easily interchanged.
The plant’s control and monitoring system has also been upgraded to ABB’s digital analyzers which function as both multimeters and network analyzers to enable highly accurate (to 1%) measurements. This data can be uploaded to ABB Ability™ Energy & Asset Manager, enabling energy usage and additional parameters such as power and load to be monitored via the cloud.
When Cemex operators test their system, they can now pull out and isolate the relevant breaker and work in complete safety without needing to disconnect the furnace from the power supply and shut down production. Furthermore, improving the thermal energy efficiency of the furnace enables the plant to reduce the amount of clinker used and thereby reduce its CO2 emissions.
“This is a perfect example of a comprehensive retrofit, tailored to our customer’s specific needs,” explained Kamil Schabiński, Project Manager for ABB Electrification Service.
“ABB products have transformed the plant’s operating conditions and the reliability and safety of its power supply. Their new circuit breakers can be connected to the cloud at any time, which will further increase their digital functionality and energy management.”