TMW Doubles Down on EPS Process

TMW performs slitting, blanking, cut-to-length, leveling and EPS processing for service centers and OEM manufacturers throughout the central and southern U.S. The TMW Technology Division researches and develops new steel processing technologies that are used worldwide, including the EPS replacement for acid pickling.

(Photo above: TMW’s new Generation 3 EPS cell during its 2016 installation at the TMW Technology Center.)

The EPS process is an environmentally friendly alternative to the acid pickling of hot rolled steel strip. Utilizing a high-pressure spray of water containing a fine steel grit, the process removes the mill scale from the surface of hot rolled steel, giving it a clean, uniform surface. Unlike acid pickling, the EPS process uses no hazardous substances to accomplish its “pickling.” The process also leaves the steel inherently rust resistant, so it does not require oiling.

To date, TMW has equipped 11 EPS lines with 22 cells in locations in the U.S., Mexico, Russia, India, Korea and China. TMW has doubled down on its investment in the technology with major new investments in its own toll processing facility in Red Bud, Ill., near St. Louis.

Most recently, TMW announced the purchase of a new slitting line from Red Bud Industries to be installed in its Plant #2, next to its newly introduced Generation 3 EPS line. The slitter will process material from 0.030 to 0.315 of an inch thick from master coils of up to 60,000 pounds. It is expected to be operational late in third-quarter 2018.

The slitting line is part of a multi-year expansion program that TMW began in 2016 and includes the reopening of Plant #2, the original 90,000-square-foot TMW facility; installation of the Generation 3 EPS coil-to-coil line, which began operation in February; a recently completed 30,000-square-foot expansion of Plant #1 for added storage capacity; and upgrades to increase the capacity of TMW’s two stretcher leveler cut-to-length lines in 2018. The company has the capacity to EPS 22,000 tons per month with its one-cell EPS coil line.

The EPS coil-to-coil line has made TMW a “pickling center” for buyers of hot rolled coils from steel mills in the Midwest and Midsouth, Voges said. TMW continues to see increased demand for its EPS Unlimited, a stretcher leveled EPS sheet product. “Because these buyers are ordering more EPS processing, our slitting and stretcher leveler lines have run out of capacity. 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 customers.”

TMW is continually working to improve its EPS design. The Generation 3 EPS platform features a new, high-performance “armor plated” EPS cell; a tension leveler; a simplified, low-maintenance filtration system; and new controls. Generation 3 technology increases line speed and reduces operating cost by 15 percent, reduces coil line maintenance by 50 percent, improves efficiency through reduced setup and thread time, and produces an even cleaner surface. The EPS process has even proven more effective at processing advanced high-strength steels, silicon steel and stainless steel versus traditional acid pickling, TMW claims.

TMW has partnered with Jingu, China’s largest wheel manufacturer, to build and distribute EPS lines there. But Voges knows it’s only a matter of time before some state-owned enterprise steals the EPS design. “They have no respect for intellectual property. We know for a fact they are copying EPS right now, in spite of TMW’s Chinese EPS patents. What’s our recourse? Our only recourse is to continually improve. If we ever stay the same, we’re toast.”