Maxiforja, one of Brazil’s largest national steel works companies, has chosen Siemens to convert its Canoas factory into a fully digitalized, state-of-the-art steel production facility. The company supplies forged and machined products and metal casings to the auto, agriculture and industrial markets. It operates one of Brazil’s largest foundries.
The steelmaker will use Siemens technologies to implement a fully digitalized workflow that gives Maxiforja complete control over revisions and approvals. This will allow different production areas of the factory to integrate better by using the same database, as well as enable the whole company to work simultaneously on the same version of a project.
Maxiforja is adopting several of Siemens’ technology platforms, starting with the Femap engineering simulation and analysis software. It will be used to optimize mechanical systems producing components for agricultural industry products.
In addition, Siemens’ NX software will be used for computer-aided design in optimizing maintenance and process engineering. The Line Designer module will help create 3D layouts for civil engineering projects. The Plant Simulation module will simulate machining and shipment processes, helping expand and optimize workflow and equipment for the company’s new 30,000-square-meter machining and shipping building. Teamcenter will help control versions, workflows and project schedules across the factory.
“This investment and partnership has brought agility to the production environment, helping us initially reduce the production time for forging tools from three months to three weeks,” said Jaques Araripe Suris, Maxiforja product engineering coordinator.
Siemens’ partnership with Maxiforja is part of the German technology company’s increasing investments in Brazil—a growing economic and industrial power. Last year, Siemens signed a far-reaching agreement with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency to commit up to $1.1 billion in the country over the next five years—tripling Siemens’ existing investment. Siemens will focus on electrification, automation and digitalization programs to boost economic growth and address infrastructure needs in the country. The company will also train people in Brazil to use its technology solutions by granting software licenses to universities, engaging in technology and academic partnerships, and offering specialized training.
“We hope that Maxiforja can serve as an example to companies of all sizes that want to take advantage of the benefits of digitization,” said Paulo Leal Costa, country manager for Siemens PLM Software in Brazil.
Expect to hear about more partnerships between Siemens and Brazilian companies to strengthen their roles in the global industrial market in the coming years.
To learn more about Siemens, check out Nobody Does Metal Printing Like Us, Says Siemens.