Gerdau Cambridge selects Russula to upgrade finishing end

Leading Canadian Merchant Bar Quality producer Gerdau Cambridge chose Russula for the electrical upgrade of the finishing end. Thirty-six DC&AC drives will be replaced with the ABB DCS880 & ACS880 series, which will improve performance and troubleshooting.

Russula will supply the new drives, electrical and software engineering, installation advisement, and commissioning support. The new drive line ups and auxiliary equipment will be designed to match the existing footprint to reuse power and motor feeder cables. Russula also has in the scope 9 motors that will be changed from DC to AC.  Some of the existing DC motors will be converted to AC motors.

Modifications will be made to the HMI and existing PLC control system.

The new drives are expected to be put into operation during the two-week summer shutdown in 2022. Preliminary installations will be accomplished in the months leading up to the shutdown. Russula’s partnership with the Gerdau Cambridge plant has spanned over a decade including the automation and drives upgrade of the bar mill.