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[Seoul Economics Daily] "Inspection of blast furnace with special sensor... Reduces occupational accidents"
admin 2022-09-13 16:57:28
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  • 'Blast furnace temperature measurement solution development' Park Seong-Jae Interview with Excello CEO
  • Systematically identify the degree of wear
  • Reduced inspection period and increased operating hours
  • The only company that commercialized the system
  • Acquired 30 patents in Korea and the US

 

"If the temperature drops by about 1 degree from the proper temperature in the steel mill furnace, an additional cost of about 6 billion won will be incurred. Temperature is important in terms of cost, but it is also related to environmental issues as it requires more fuel. Temperature conditions are so important, but data measurements on refractory materials that can deviate from the proper level are fairly analog. Founding 'Excello' and creating IRS (Intelligent Real-time System) started from this awareness of the problem."


Park Seong-Jae (pictured), CEO of Excello, met with Seoul Economic Daily on the 29th and explained the start of the company as follows. Excello, a startup founded by CEO Park in 2017, is attracting attention in the industry as an 'IRS solution,' a refractory monitoring system, provider.


Refractories are objects that must be entered into blast furnaces in steel mills or incinerators in waste workplaces. However, refractory materials that have to withstand extreme conditions such as over 1,000 degrees celsius cannot be used after a certain period and must be replaced. It is known that even the largest steel maker in Korea costs about 1 trillion Korean won annually. It is such an important piece of equipment, but systematic checking and inspection were limited. It was through the naked eye or a method that relied on the senses, etc. However, Excello's IRS solution attaches a special sensor to the refractory material to check the surrounding temperature and wear level.


The information accumulated through this increases the efficiency of maintenance. This is because, based on big data such as thickness, thermal conductivity, and energy loss rate of refractory materials, it presents information such as the time to replace refractories, equipment replacement time, and fossil fuels required to increase the temperature of molten iron. Accordingly, it is explained that it can positively affect profitability by shortening the period of facility inspection while increasing the operating hours. For this reason, CEO Park emphasizes Excello as a big data company.


CEO Park said, "For example, in the case of an incinerator, the more facilities are operated out of the set number of days a year, the more sales increase. I think we can do it." He continued, "It will also be helpful in terms of responding to the major disaster law in that it does not require a person to check the production facility personally."


Attempts to create a more advanced system such as Excello have been steadily progressing. However, only one place that succeeded in commercialization is currently Excel. This is because it is not easy to satisfy various basic conditions such as the physical properties and price of the sensor. CEO Park said, "The sensor must be able to withstand high temperature and pressure and must not affect the properties of the refractory material. This is the reason why not only Korea's leading steelmakers but also the world's largest steelmakers are showing interest in Excello. Excello has secured a total of 30 patents in the US and Europe, including Korea.


CEO Park took the first step in his social life at an information technology (IT) company. After that, he worked with his father, who was a refractory material manufacturer, and, realizing that the related systems were outdated, he started developing sensors and analysis systems. In 2016, the business began in earnest by winning first place in a challenging program hosted by the global No. 1 design engineering company. Currently, investment in 'Series A' has been completed, and the system of Excello is being applied to some large steel companies. It plans to invest in Series B at the end of this year.


Although the company is still in its infancy, CEO Park is looking for a bigger place. CEO Park said, "We will advance into the global market and further grow the company."

 

29th August 2022

Source : '특수센서로 고로 점검…人災 줄여주죠' : 서울경제 (sedaily.com)

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