“Switching completely to remote was a real challenge for my team,” says Michael Gottschalk, Head of Automation. “It was clear to everyone that optimum preparation would be vital. So here at the Beckum Research Center we first ran through the complete system setup and functional testing in detail and installed the latest software.”
In parallel with this, our customer in Iraq replaced the hardware and ensured the new systems were ready for operation. The big day arrived on August 19, 2020: “We were all very nervous. Had we thought of everything, would the data link hold up? In the end there was relief all round: The upgrade and startup of the new control system via remote DSL link went without a hitch. The upgrade itself took a week, plus another week to train the customer’s staff.”
The upgrade and startup of the new control system via remote DSL link went without a hitch.
Michael Gottschalk, Head of Automation
thyssenkrupp built the two cement lines near the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah in 1985. They have a production capacity of 6,400 tpd. The poltakt control technology and the polcid® process control system were first modernized in 2005 and 2006 respectively. In 2019 the customer placed an order with thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, BU Cement Technologies for the next upgrade.
