ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won a contract to provide a complete set of electrical equipment for a cold rolling mill project at the Yunnan Aluminum Co., Ltd, said company sources.

As part of a joint project with SMS DEMAG Co., ABB's equipment will help to expand operations and increase Yunnan Aluminum's processing capacity by 80 percent.

Yunnan Aluminum is the largest electricity consumer on the Yunnan Power Grid. In recent years it has invested around 3.7 billion yuan (514 million U.S. dollars) in energy-saving initiatives to bring its consumption down to 13,600 kilowatt hours (kwh) per ton aluminum -- more than 1,000 kwh per ton or seven percent less than the national average for aluminum processing.

The company recently installed the world's most advanced continuous casting and rolling technology for aluminum processing, which uses SMS DEMAG Co. and ABB technologies, to achieve energy savings of 26 percent.

"This order strengthens ABB's position as the leading supplier of electrical and automation systems to the steel and non-ferrous metal industry," said Tobias Becker, Head of the Process Automation Division of ABB China and North Asia.

ABB will supply Yunnan Aluminum with a full set of electrical equipment, including the main motors and drives, automation systems, and engineering and commissioning work for the project.

This was the fourth order in China that ABB has won with SMS DEMAG. ABB has also provided power and automation solutions for the largest aluminum processing plant in Europe, run by Hydro Aluminum, helping to increase capacity by 15 percent and energy efficiency by 25 percent.

The ABB Group of companies operates in about 100 countries and employs more than 110,000 people. It has a variety of businesses in China including R&D, manufacturing, sales and service, with 12,000 employees, 25 joint ventures and wholly owned companies and a sales and service network across 38 cities.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2008)