What is smart manufacturing?

Smart manufacturing does not just mean having a smart factory. It is a significant transformation in the way we source raw materials, manufacture, and market our products through horizontal and vertical supply chain integration. It is a profoundly customer-focused concept.

This change is not a one-step process as there are obvious challenges of trust and data security to overcome between diverse parties in the supply chain. There are a number of examples of early adopters within the steel industry; especially in vertical integration within business segments where building blocks of smart factories are being put together.

Is steel environmentally friendly and sustainable?

Steel is completely recyclable, possesses great durability, and, compared to other materials, requires relatively low amounts of energy to produce. Innovative lightweight steels (such as those used in in automobiles and buidlings) help to save energy and resources. The steel industry has made immense efforts to limit environmental pollution in the last decades. Producing one tonne of steel today requires just 40% of the energy it did in 1960. Dust emissions have been reduced by even more.

Can steel be recycled?

Yes, very easily. Steel’s unique magnetic properties make it an easy material to recover from the waste stream to be recycled. The properties of steel remain unchanged no matter how many times the steel is recycled.The electric arc furnace (EAF) method of steel production can use exclusively recycled steel. The blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route can use up to 30% recycled steel.