Case Study
Corus L.P. aluminum plant selects Camstar's InSite e-manufacturing software
The Cap de la Madeleine (Quebec) aluminum plant of Corus L.P. (formerly Reycan L.P.) has selected Camstar Systems, Inc.'s InSite e-manufacturing software in its efforts to increase competitiveness, while reducing production costs.
Corus L.P. is a major supplier of thin aluminum material for heat exchangers to the North American automotive industry. The company also produces converter foil and operates a coil coating line. Corus L.P. is jointly owned by the Corus Group PLC and SGF Mineral Inc.
At Corus L.P., InSite will be the key component of an integrated manufacturing system that will cover such areas as product genealogy, process and documentation control, and inventory management.
InSite offers a common, flexible, Internet-based platform for managing customer orders across multiple plants and processes.
The system being implemented at Corus L.P. will consist of Camstar's InSite e-manufacturing solution, integrated with Camstar Systems, Inc.'s Plant Information (PI) data historian and Microsoft SQL Server products.
Canadian-based Keops Technologies Inc., a provider of manufacturing solutions for the metals, pulp & paper, petro-chemical, and food & beverage industries, is serving as systems integrator for the Corus L.P. project.
"Companies such as Corus L.P. can now utilize sophisticated information technology tools that allow them to be far more efficient in their business management," says Francois Provost, president of Keops. "This will allow them to compete globally, based on the efficiency of their individual manufacturing units and their ability to link them together in pursuit of their overall business objectives."
Camstar's InSite was selected based on a detailed analysis of manufacturing system products that might be applied to metals, according to Keops' Provost.
"We made a grid of all the required functionalities, which quickly narrowed the possibilities down to a short list of only three companies. InSite's functionality fit our model of the perfect solution most closely, and it soon became clear to us that it was the best choice for this particular operation," Provost says.
The implementation at Corus L.P. will increase the company's competitiveness thanks to the continuous improvement of metal yield and quality in the context of QS-9000 certification, as well as a reduction in production costs.
"The new systems will give our employees the tools required to make the best decisions based on quality information," says Michel Blanchet, VP of operations at Corus L.P. "This project constitutes a key element in the realization of our full business potential."
Earlier this year, Alcan Aluminum Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of Alcan Aluminium Ltd. selected Camstar's InSite for use in its North American Sheet Products Division to track work-in-process inventory and detailed product flow at the factory level.
Edited by Jim Lardear
Managing Editor, PlantAutomation.com
