Austria's largest steel company, voestalpine, has launched a state-of-the-art test center at its Linz facility, where a comprehensive process of testing and approval of cold-rolled steel is carried out.
The new testing center for quality control of cold rolled, hot dip galvanized, electro galvanized and painted steel strip as well as electrical steel sets completely new standards in the field of quality control of steel products.
In the center, 95 percent of all samples - an international record - are fully automatically measured, processed and pre-sorted for subsequent steps in the process.
“Digitalization in all areas of business is the cornerstone of our corporate strategy. Test automation and digitization is another important step in strengthening our global leadership in technology and innovation. We are setting new standards in this area,” said Herbert Eibensteiner, Chairman of the Management Board of voestalpine AG.
Voestalpine invested 23 million euros in an automated steel quality control center. On average, the laboratory conducts about 50,000 tests per month, and this figure is growing.
The center officially opened in February 2022 and will be fully automated and digitized by winter 2023. In the future, preparation, sorting and transport of samples, as well as serial testing, will be automated, allowing employees of the metallurgical giant to focus on more complex tasks.
