There is a thin line between success and failure in the highly competitive global steel market. Technical expertise and modern manufacturing plant are no longer enough. Monitoring and streamlining of all production processes is vital to survival. In response to this pressure, the sector began implementing high-tech IT many years ago. German steel manufacturer Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, for example, has a complex environment encompassing 3,000 systems for tasks such as production planning and control. IT solutions like this are the key to productivity, performance, and, ultimately, profitability. However, should this infrastructure fail, production can be seriously disrupted – or, worse still, brought to a standstill.
The Project
TELCAT chose to implement the Terminal Server Edition of theGuard! NetworkManager. It enables specialists at each production unit at the Salzgitter plant to locate network problems and component failures for themselves. Since the implementation of release 5.0, complete with a Web browser interface, this task is even easier. Data can now be monitored from any desktop via Internet Explorer without any additional software.
About TELCAT
Salzgitter Flachstahl is one of Europe’s leading steel manufacturers, with a total workforce of 18,000. The company operates furnaces, rolling mills and surfacetreatment plant at its headquarters in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony. It was quick to respond to price competition in the industry by investing in IT solutions for planning and controlling production. By leveraging Web-based technologies, the company is now combining its many standalone systems for individual production processes to create a fully integrated, enterprise-wide environment. Salzgitter Flachstahl currently operates an Ethernet LAN to connect all desktop PCs and servers used for production-related tasks. TELCAT was founded in 1986 and is responsible for operating the steel giant’s IT systems.