The First Phase of Ovako Imatra's 15 Million Euro Investment in the Heavy Bar Mill Completed

A new dimension measurement device has been installed at the heavy bar mill in Imatra, enhancing production efficiency, further improving steel quality, and reducing physical workload. The new measuring device is part of a major investment in modernizing the heavy bar mill.

The device was supplied by the German company LAP Laser GmbH and it is installed on the profile line of the heavy bar mill. The device is equipped with four laser modules and a high-speed camera that captures steel bars passing through the device, calculating their final dimensions with precision and in real time using advanced computation algorithms.

The need for the new measurement device arose as the share of profile dimensions in the heavy bar mill's output has increased, creating a demand for greater production efficiency.

“Production efficiency is based on increased automation. Thanks to the measurement device, the production capacity of the heavy bar mill is expected to grow by approximately 6,000 tons per year,” says Otto Kankaanpää, Project Manager for the measurement device project.

The dimension measurement device also significantly improves the detection of surface defects. The analysis of surface defects relies on laser scanning and high-speed imaging.

“This technological leap greatly enhances material tracking, the already high quality, and performance monitoring at our mill. In the future, we will collect data comprising millions of measurement points from each steel bar, allowing us to pinpoint, for example, the exact point in the melt where defective surface bars originate,” Kankaanpää explains.

The dimension measurement device was commissioned just before Christmas. The planning and implementation of the investment involved a wide range of professionals from different fields within Ovako. The new technology also offers learning opportunities, for example, in data analytics.

“The majority of production now passes through the new measurement device. We are finalizing a few details in collaboration with the supplier, and next, we will focus on maximizing the utilization of the device and the data it produces in our processes. Operators play a key role in this, and we’ve received positive feedback from them,” Kankaanpää acknowledges.

For more information, please contact

Operations Engineer Otto Kankaanpää
Tel. +358 20 501 5272
otto.kankaapaa@ovako.com