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KUBOTA METAL CORPORATION

FAHRAMET DIVISION

www.kubotametal.com

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Kubota Metal Corporation, Fahramet Division

metal jacket Ruari McCallion takes a look at specialist alloy enterprise Kubota Metal Corporation, Fahramet Division, a leader in the development and production of heat- and corrosion-resistant alloys for the steel and petrochemical industries

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rillia, Ontario, is about 100 kilometers north of Toronto and dates its incorporation as a recognized settlement back to 1867, the same year that Canada achieved confederation and formed the Dominion of Canada. Its location on Lake Simcoe, between Lake Ontario to the south and Georgian Bay to the north, attracted Huron and Iroquois people as far back as 4,000 years ago. More recently, mineral riches and

“Kubota has worked to develop and produce a variety of special alloys that are designed to withstand high temperatures and to resist carburization” ready sources of hydroelectric power made southern Ontario a magnet to the steel industry.

While the big furnaces of Burlington and Hamilton were established closer to Niagara Falls, Orillia has attracted a range of specialist operations, including Smiths Aerospace Components, TI Group Automotive Systems and Kubota Metal Corporation, Fahramet Division.

Kubota started life in 1935 as a supplier of castings to the mining industry in Ontario and beyond. It has grown a lot since then and now exports between 50 and 60 percent of its output.

While mining remains an important customer base, the company has diversified and is recognized as a leader in the development and production of heat- and corrosion-resistant alloys for the steel and petrochemical industries.

The petrochemical industry’s largest product by volume is ethylene, which is used as a base material for a range of plastics and other products and is produced in the hottest furnaces that use metal castings. The materials deployed in the furnaces are subjected not only to very high temperatures—and heating and cooling stresses— but also have to be able to withstand a process known as carburization, which is diffusion of carbon into the metal matrix. Kubota has worked to develop and produce a variety of special alloys that are designed to withstand high temperatures and to resist carburization. The company’s tubes and fittings, made with high nickel-chromium content, are able to satisfy the twin demands of resisting carburization and maintaining strength at high temperatures and through numerous heating and cooling cycles.

Also in the chemical area, vinyl chloride remains a widely used material in plastics, being the main constituent of PVC; it is also known as vinyl chloride monomer, or VCM. In its basic state and at ambient pressure and temperature, it’s a colorless gas with a sickly sweet odor, and it’s highly toxic, flammable and carcinogenic—not something to be messed around with. Kubota makes coils for process-fired heaters for VCM and for styrene. The coils are fabricated with gas shielded arc welding, using orbital or rotated hotwire machine welding.

The production of hydrogen from steam and natural gas makes use of Kubota catalyst reformer tubes. Reformers operate at higher temperatures (above 500 degrees Celsius or 932 degrees Fahrenheit) and at lower pressures than pyrolysis coils, which utilize a near-anaerobic thermochemical process. As the gases do not reduce in reformers, the need is for strong alloys that resist “creep” more than carburization.

Kubota’s tubes, specially made for reformers, are designed to maximize their physical properties at high temperatures.

Quality control is clearly essential. The company has deployed an SPC (statistical process control) program covering every aspect of the casting process. Multiple pouring processes, used by some other foundries, can result in the loss of reactive elements within the alloy, which can compromise ultimate strength performance.

Kubota microalloyed tubes are made from a single heating cycle, and their chemistry is certified.

Hydrogen produced by Kubota’s customers can be used directly or be converted into methanol, ammonia or town gas.

Whatever the manufacturing process and ultimate application, whether in chemicals, petrochemicals, mining or metals, Kubota controls all aspects of it, from inspection of raw materials onward. The company works closely with its suppliers in order to effectively manage orders and fulfill customer needs. Prior to the economic downturn, demand had necessarily led to a degree of outsourcing. In some respects, the downturn has actually helped with quality control, as more is now undertaken in-house. Casting of metal, machining, welding, inspection and preparation for shipment are all done under one roof. Shifts operate around the clock to ensure a continuous flow of material.

Kubota Metal Corporation, Fahramet Division, was formerly a division of Indusmin Ltd., which was part of the Falconbridge Group. In 1990 it was acquired by the Kubota Corporation, which is based in Osaka, Japan, and operates as part of the parent company’s Materials Consolidated Division. Other companies within that part of the corporation operate independently in

Kubota Metal Corporation, Fahramet Division

manufacturing iron, steel and plastics products for industrial customers around the world.

With a Japanese parent company, it’s not a big surprise to learn that continuous improvement is integral and embedded in Kubota’s culture.

The drive for operational excellence is led from the most senior levels of the corporation, but structured improvement processes were in place even before the acquisition. In 1986 Kubota in Canada implemented a program of continuous quality improvement based on SPC methods, first to sand processing in the foundry. It made a major contribution to improvements in the surface quality of static castings as well as to higher yield, reduced scrap and reduced sand costs.

The ideas were rolled out to the rest of the business through employee training and led to changes in the corporate infrastructure, in order to better SPC across all manufacturing processes.

The company says that SPC has enabled it to achieve consistent and above-average cast tube quality. Any variations in composition and microstructure and any other influences on mechanical properties are kept within clearly defined limits. It means that Kubota and its customers can assess the state and quality of an order at any stage during production.

The drive for improvement is ongoing, as the term kaizen implies. About six years ago, a program called Total Productivity Innovation (TPI) was introduced, and Kubota is implementing a new computer system within the TPI structure.

Ongoing in-house training ensures that the company has the skills, resources, expertise and dedication to quality and customer satisfaction required to meet both current challenges and the needs of the post-downturn economy. www.kubotametal.com

KUBOTA METAL CORPORATION

FAHRAMET DIVISION

www.kubotametal.com