EPS Gen 4 Line Enters Operation

December 14, 2022

A major advance in EPS Technology, EPS Generation 4, began operation at the TMW Technology Center in Red Bud, IL. ‘Gen 4’ replaces the single EPS Turbine Chamber/Tank per Cell with two smaller, simpler ‘twin’ Turbine Chambers/Tanks. The reconfigured Chambers/Tanks, shorter supply hoses and more powerful Turbine Motors dramatically boost slurry flow. That allows a Gen 4 Cell to operate with only 4 Slurry Turbines (versus the 8 used in Gen 3), but descale at 75% the rate of a Gen 3 EPS Cell.

The net effect of these changes is an even lower pickling cost. The one-cell EPS Coil Line at TMW reliably pickles low carbon coils at a variable cost of $12/ton or less.

On December 14, 2022, TMW announced that Gen 4 Cells are available for purchase, kicking off an important new phase of EPS Technology to conclude TMW’s 30th Anniversary year.

The EPS Generation 4 Split Turbine Chamber (click photo to enlarge)

One-Stop Heavy Gage, High Strength Processing

February 8, 2019

TMW has completed commissioning of its advanced, heavy gauge slitter and is now processing coils up to 5/16” (8mm) thick. This is TMW’s second RBI slitter and latest investment in equipment and upgrades to remain the premier toll processing center for slitting, EPS pickling, stretcher leveling and cut-to-length processing of heavy gauge, high strength flat rolled.

The new slitter can process material up to 0.315″ x 75” (8 x 1905mm) and 100K tensile strength from coils up to 55,000 lbs. It holds a width tolerance of +/- 0.005”, features an integrated packaging line and is located right next to TMW’s environmentally friendly EPS pickling line.

TMW President Kevin Voges remarked, “This slitter is part of a two-year investment program we undertook to place unmatched heavy gauge capabilities under one roof. We had previously installed our EPS Coil Line and upgraded our 5/16” x 75” CTL line with a new stretcher section and roll feed. Now we can offer customers heavy gauge EPS’d slit coil, a product they have been requesting for some time. The final piece will be adding a new RBI SUREGRIP® Stretcher section and controls to our .130″ x 74” Stretcher Leveler blanking line later this year. That will boost its capability to  0.200″ thickness.

We’ll have two state-of-the-art Stretcher-Levelers, both with higher efficiency, which expands our medium to heavy gauge stretching capacity. And all our product can be EPS pickled before it goes on the new Stretcher Leveler heavy gauge CTL line, the new Stretcher Leveler medium blanking line or the new heavy gauge slitter. Customers can only get that capability from TMW.”

TMW Announces Advanced New Slitting Line

October 24, 2017

The Material Works, Ltd. (TMW) announced today that a new, state-of-the-art Slitting Line from Red Bud Industries will be installed in TMW Plant #2, next to the Generation 3 EPS Pickling Line. The slitter will process material from 0.030” to 0.315” thick from master coils of up to 60,000 lbs. It is expected to be operational late 3Q 2018.

In announcing this investment, TMW President Kevin Voges explained, “The new slitting line is part of a multi-year expansion program that began in 2016 and has featured:

• re-opening of Plant #2 (the original 90,000 ft2 TMW facility),
• the Generation 3 EPS Coil-to-Coil Line, which began operation Feb. 2017,
• a recently completed 30,000 ft2 expansion of Plant #1 for added storage,
• upgrades to increase capacity of our two Stretcher Leveler CTL lines.

The EPS Coil-to-Coil line has made TMW a ‘pickling center’ for buyers of hot band coils from steel mills in the midwest and midsouth. Because these buyers want their EPS coils slit or blanked, we could see that our capacity in these areas would be challenged. The Stretcher Leveler Cut-to-Length line upgrades and this new Slitting Line will meet that challenge and give us headroom to continue to meet the future needs of our valued customers.”

TMW To Increase Stretcher Leveling Capacity

July 12, 2017

TMW announced today that growing demand for its EPS Unlimited flat rolled product has motivated major investments in its Stretcher Leveling Cut-to-Length lines. Capacity increases for TMW’s two Stretcher Leveler CTL lines will be phased in beginning this September and are scheduled for July 2018 completion with no interruption in service to TMW customers.

In announcing this investment, TMW President Kevin Voges explained, “We started up our Generation 3 EPS Coil Line in March, knowing there was immediate demand for EPS coils. However, the demand for EPS Unlimited – the Stretcher Leveled EPS sheet product – really took off at the same time.” (EPS Unlimited is an application of both EPS Pickling and Stretcher Leveling which produces an ultra-clean, oil-free, ‘stay-flat’ sheet product.)

“To meet this increased demand, we are upgrading our heavy gauge Stretcher Leveler with a new roller leveler, shear, threading system, stretcher frames and PLC controls to increase its overall capacity. We will make similar upgrades to our lighter gauge Stretcher Leveler, both increasing its throughput and allowing it to stretch material up to 4.75 mm (0.187″). When complete, we will produce greater volumes of EPS Unlimited sheets over a broader thickness range of 1.2 mm to 9.5 mm (0.04″ to 0.375″).”

First EPS Generation 3 Line Enters Operation

March 6, 2017

The first coil was processed through a Generation 3 EPS Coil Line on February 6, 2017 at the TMW Technology Center in Red Bud, IL. This debut of the integrated, seamless new TMW-supplied EPS Coil line features:

• the new, high-performance ‘armor plated’ EPS Cell,
• Allor’s tension leveler,
• the simplified, low maintenance filtration system,
• TMW’s state-of-the-art controls,
• the ability to EPS low/high carbon, AHSS, silicon steel, and stainless all on the same line

The line is now pickling production coils while the many new innovations are being ‘tuned’ for optimum production performance. We are now receiving trial coils and will be accepting visitors at the completion of the startup phase.

The first Generation 3 EPS Processed Coil (click photo to enlarge)

TMW Featured on National TV

June 20, 2016

The producers of the TV program Manufacturing Marvels seek out companies who are considered both leaders and innovators in their industry. They profile such companies to show the strength and resilience of US manufacturing.

TMW was honored to be selected by Manufacturing Marvels for a video profile, which aired on June 20 on FOX Business News. We are pleased with the segment they produced and wanted to share it with our customers and partners.

Click on the video image below to watch our Manufacturing Marvels profile.