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FOCS saves energy and improves productivity
Swerim has developed the furnace control system FOCS, which helps industry to boost productivity and drastically reduce energy use. The system is now for sale all over the world.
FOCS, which stands for Furnace Optimizing Control System, is an advanced control system that has been used in steel reheating furnaces for 20 years. The system is a result of a successful project within Swerim's joint research programme.
Large energy savings
FOCS helps steel companies to reduce energy use by 5–20 percent, depending on existing furnace-control equipment, furnace type and operating parameters. An additional benefit besides these energy savings is a reduction in mill-scale losses, which ultimately leads to greater productivity.
About 90 percent of all steel manufactured in the Nordic countries is treated in furnaces that are controlled using a FOCS. The system allows fuel optimisation in the manufacture of complex steel grades.
Increased productivity with smart functions
Precise control of billet, bloom or slab temperature improves reproducibility and gives a higher product quality, for example, in the production of ultra-high-strength steel with improved surface quality. With smart functions for controlling transfer speed, bottlenecks can be avoided and productivity can be increased by up to 28 percent.
Steel companies that use FOCS include, for example, SSAB, Outokumpu Stainless, Ovako and Sandvik Materials Technology. The system is now sold worldwide, under licence, by Prevas and ABB.