In addition to the appointed mechanical maintenance, promising negotiations for an extended Electrical & Instrumentation coverage within the full-service contract are ongoing. The actual E&I maintenance challenges are being solved in close collaboration with the Kronos maintenance staff.
Production challenges
In 2005, the producer purchased a first PF 808 filter from Metso Outotec and relied on local service and parts to keep the machine running smoothly. A key driver for the purchase of the PF filter was the potential for improved process results compared to their existing VDF filter, especially in terms of a higher dry solids percentage for the filter cake and a lower wash ration.
Over the years the company has made a more concentrated drive towards increasing the overall efficiency of its operations, with the care and maintenance of its filters becoming an important focus. With any breakdown of the filter potentially leading to a complete stoppage of the plant with high associated production losses, the filter’s availability was considered critical to the plant’s operation. With pressure on the producer to reduce the value of capital it had tied up in parts inventory as well as shift the focus of its personnel to production, KRONOS TITAN GmbH began to explore options of a service agreement for its filters with Metso Outotec.
High filter availability and quick on-site support
In 2008, the producer signed a first Life Cycle Services (LCS) agreement with Metso Outotec. The agreement included consignment parts held in inventory, a program often paired with LCS but which is also available as a standalone Metso Outotec Inventory Solution (MOI). In addition to consignment parts, the LCS contract signed with KRONOS TITAN GmbH also included maintenance services as well as an equipment availability guarantee for its PF filter.
With the service contract in place at the site, filter availability of over 95% has been consistently reached and maintained. Since the initial contract, KRONOS TITAN GmbH has also added five additional Metso Outotec filters (FP models) at the plant in two streams, with all now covered by the LCS agreement.
The high 95% machine availability was reached thanks to the combination of OEM expertise in terms of maintenance and filtration process knowledge, combined with a culture of transparency and cooperation with the producer’s key service teams at the site. Metso Outotec has also provided process support for filter setup which has added additional value in terms of improved final product quality. The improvements worked on together with KRONOS TITAN GmbH have also resulted in the optimization and improvements for Metso Outotec products.
Stefan Stutzer, Sales Manager Germany, summed up the factors that have allowed the teams to achieve such strong results in terms of equipment availability. “It all comes down to the cooperation between our onsite teams and KRONOS TITAN’s personnel. We have regular meetings to discuss issues and solutions and hold thorough yearly reviews to identify and discuss improvement opportunities in how the filters are maintained and operated.”