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Thailand’s SSI Steel looking to increase investment in robotics and automation technologies

Thailand’s largest steelmaker, Sahaviriya Steel Industries, is looking to increase its investment in robotics and automation technologies. 

In exclusive comments to Robotics and Automation News, the company’s vice president, Ratchata Jirachotekamjorn, said SSI Steel is looking to gain efficiencies and increase productivity through the use of robotics and automation as well as the latest machine-to-machine technologies.

“The predictive maintenance capabilities are of special interest,” said Jirachotekamjorn. 

He added that the main applications for the robots will include marking rolls of steel to indicate which customers they are for and other information, and welding, in one SSI’s associated engineering businesses.

Jirachotekamjorn, whose specific area of responsibility is industrial control system technology, added that SSI is also interested in using holographic machine interfaces, which is a type of augmented reality technology.

“We want the latest technology in order to compete with the biggest companies in the world,” he said.

SSI Steel, which mainly supplies steel sheets in rolled form, generates revenues of approximately $2 billion a year.

The largest steelmaker in the world is probably ArcelorMittal, which generates revenues of approximately $57 billion a year.

According to a list compiled by TheBalance.com, the world’s largest steelmakers by the amount they produce are:

  1. ArcelorMittal :: 98.2 million metric tonnes
  2. Baosteel :: 37 mmt
  3. Posco :: 35.4 mmt
  4. Nippon Steel :: 35 mmt
  5. JFE :: 31.1 mmt
  6. Jiangsu Shagang :: 23.2 mmt
  7. Tata Steel :: 23.2 mmt
  8. US Steel :: 22.3 mmt
  9. Ansteel :: 22.1 mmt
  10. Gerdau :: 18.7 mmt

SSI Steel has an annual capacity of 4 million tonnes.