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For Gerdau Corsa, as well as for Alfran, Health&Safety is the most important thing. They are constantly improving in terms of safety. During the shutdown, they implemented the “ARE YOU READY” plan, which basically consists of leaving evidence of the requirements in terms of safety carried out by the employees who participated during the shutdown, either to recognize good practices or to amend unsafe acts or conditions.

Alfran participated actively and was considered the company with the highest participation during the shutdown. Several of our collaborators received recognition from the customer.

How to make Health and Safety a Value

Generating processes of reflection and self-knowledge, through which people acquire skills and self-confidence to take responsibility for their own safety and welfare, achieving positive changes as human beings at individual and social level

The Conference on Knowledge, Circular Economy and Recycling in the Refractory Materials Sector was organized in October by the Refractory Section of the Spanish Society of Ceramics and Glass. The Conference had the collaboration of the National Association of Manufacturers of Refractory, Materials and Related Services (ANFRE) and the Institute of Ceramics and Glass (ICV).

With the participation of more than 70 registered attendants, from Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden and Germany, belonging to companies in the sector (Raw Materials, Producers, Users and Recyclers), Research Centers, Technology Centers, Associations and different Ministries of the Government of Spain, it has been considered a beneficial day from the scientific-technical point of view for all participants.

Strategically, Europe’s dependence on raw materials in our industrial sector makes the search for alternative supply possibilities a necessity. These include the ability to properly manage by-products of our own activity and even others as a source of resources.

The speakers shared their experiences from different approaches in the refractory world: End users and, therefore, waste generators after their useful life, Valorizers, Manufacturers, Academics and Researchers as well as Institutional Regulators.

This Conference on Knowledge, Circular Economy and Recycling in the Sector had the participation of colleagues from ALFRAN. Among them José María Dominguez, as speaker at the closing table, where current issues and some possible future approaches were discussed. Also present was Margarita Álvarez, vice president of the Refractories section, as part of the organizing and chairwoman committee during the session.

Contract for Fireproofing, Supply and Application of Alfran Fire Ind in the PSA PQ Hydrogen Recovery Project of Cepsa La Rábida, Spain.

At the end of August 2018, the O&G EMEA company was awarded the Fireproofing Contract for the PSA PQ Hydrogen Recovery Project of Cepsa La Rábida. The Fireproofing tasks began in mid-July and were completed in mid-September 2019, managing to finish the work before the pre-established deadline.

The scope included the fireproofing of equipment skirts, fireproofing of the structure of the PV-C-1 compressor, Pipe Rack, PV-E-2 air cooler and Rack,

Finally, 37.5 MT of Fire Ind have been installed in more than 1,200 m2 of the structures and equipment described above

Again, CEPSA Engineering relies on Alfran to carry out the work of Ignifugado for its latest refining projects.

Project images:

The project consisted of the installation of the refractory of a Zinc Furnace of the galvanized line of the new Ternium plant in Pesquería, N.L., Mexico. This equipment is an induction furnace for ZAM, an alloy of Zinc, Alumina and Magnesium used as protection against corrosion in metals.

Alfran worked under a contract with Ajax Tocco Magnethermic, who collaborated with Mitsubishi and Primetals for this project.

The design of the coating for this application is multilayered, which required the installation of various refractory materials, shaped and non-formed (bricks, concrete, mortars, ramming masses, plates and ceramic fibers), as well as a thorough monitoring of all variables and design specifications during installation.

In the execution, the client’s expectations regarding safety, quality and deadlines were met, which leaves the name of our company and the entire alfran team well positioned. The final customer, Ternium, has also highlighted our work.

This project constitutes another step towards the fulfillment of Alfran‘s strategy in terms of diversification in clients and sectors in the Americas.

The following images show the refractory lining work carried out:

Traceability is one of the most addressed concepts so far this century, it is also for Alfran. The UNE 66.901-92 standard defines traceability as the “ability to reconstruct the history of the use or location of an item or product by means of a registered identification”.

ALFRAN does not limit the tracking of a product to delivery to the distributor or final customer, Alfran goes further and continues with the monitoring during the installation of the material and recording its performance in the operation of the customers. For this, they rely on technology, on the offer of Integral Service (Engineering + Manufacturing + Supply + Installation + Drying) and on the continuous presence of supervisors at maintenance stops of industrial customers.

To achieve this, a clear vision, great determination and hard work have been required, ranging from the implementation of computer tools to the training and awareness of the entire team of professionals. The result allows them to have, in real time, the relevant information of any product and make it available to users. It includes from the MMPP used in manufacturing to the performance that the material has had in operation.

ALFRAN products

As an example of all this, Alfran products have triple coding in their labeling, consisting of a barcode, a QR code and an alphanumeric code.

The barcode is used internally in its factories for the control of each of the variables of product processing (input of raw materials, production and quality control). And, later, during installation on the client’s computer. It is in this phase where it allows to maintain the much desired traceability and references by zones. 

For its part, the QR code allows access to technical information, safety data sheet and concrete installation procedure. For this, any reader can be used for QR codes, from a Smartphone type device. Finally, the alphanumeric code allows access to the basic information of any product through the ALFRAN APP, where you can also find useful tools to facilitate and guide during installation. The Alfran APP is available for Android and iOS operating systems, so it can be downloaded from the PlayStore or AppStore, respectively.

ALFRAN provides accurate information

All this information is processed and stored in real time, providing accurate information and the ability to maintain control of any action. Thus, traceability is completed for the entire product life cycle.

In conclusion, traceability management requires, requires and brings together great concepts, among others, that of Quality, Innovation and Service, supported in the use of Technology. In ALFRAN they are committed to these concepts and to their clients, this commitment being the basis for the fulfillment of their Business Mission, which is “To be the reference industrial partner in high temperature”.

Thermal Insulation of HRSG, BOP and Steam Turbine and Passive Fire Protection in the Northeast Iberdrola Combined Cycle Construction Project

From September 2017 to October 2018 Alfran has been performing different tasks of thermal insulation and passive fire protection in an Iberdrola plant. The Northeast Combined cycle is located in the municipality of El Carmen, urban area of Monterrey. Its configuration is 2×1, that is, two gas turbines with their respective heat recovery boilers, for one steam. The power generation capacity is 857 MW and its turbines are Mitsubishi technology.

Insulation: We carried out the work of supply and installation of insulating materials for pipes and equipment both in the Boilers and in BOP (auxiliary services) and Steam Turbine with different materials, Rock Wool, Ceramic Fiber, Airgel, Microporous and Calcium Silicate, 37,000 m2 being approximately the isolated surface.

Passive Fire Protection: We carried out the works of Supply and Installation of Fireproof Seals in the control and excitation rooms areas of Gas Turbine I and II, Aero Condenser, Boilers I and II, Auxiliary Boiler, Electric Room and Water Treatment Plant.

In addition, Cable Protection was performed by ablative paint.

During the XVI Conference of the European Ceramics Society, Jose María Domínguez Ibáñez was awarded the Gian Nicolas Babini Prize for his contribution to the Refractory Ceramics Industry.

The Gian Nicolas Babini Prize is a recognition of the contribution to the European Ceramic Industry through exceptional technical achievements such as the development of an innovative technology or a commercially viable product that represents a profit for society.

In the following link you can see all the winners in the conference: