Integrated optimization of the Ipatinga and Cubatão plants

Inaugurated in 1956 in Ipatinga, Usiminas (Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A) is a company that stands out as a leader in the production and commercialization of steel. The company owns the largest flat steel complex in Latin America and one of the 20 largest in the world. Today, it also has a plant in Cubatão-SP.

In addition to raw material purchase decisions such as coke coals and ferrous materials, Usiminas has to deal with corporate decisions involving the transfer of material and the distribution of the product portfolio between the plants of Ipatinga and Cubatão. Usiminas also needed, in an optimized way, to know the marginal cost of production of the various products to favor the sale of the most profitable ones.

We integrated and customized our integrated steel plant model for the two plants, with material transfer and market integration. The value chain is being optimized the coking plant to the latest rolling and finishing processes. The model includes the different chemical and thermal balances of each individual process.

The use of the tool to optimize the annual budget pointed to changes in the practice of raw material consumption, which brought about a great reduction in production costs.