IoT and analytics for sustainability and innovation in the non ferrous metal production
KME is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of semi-finished products in copper, brass and special alloys.
The Fornaci di Barga (LU) site, founded in 1916, is the company’s production hub: here, thousands of tonnes of metal are smelted, rolled and transformed into coils for high added-value markets, from electrical connectors to heat exchangers and architectural cladding.
In recent years, KME has expanded its catalogue from a few dozen to hundreds of alloys, increasing the use of scrap metal in a circular and sustainable manner, but introducing greater complexity into its production processes.
The Challenge
With the KME 5.0 project, the company set itself ambitious goals:
- Reduce production waste by 30%
- Reduce specific energy consumption per product unit by 5%
- Provide each coil with an ‘environmental passport’, tracking consumption and emissions throughout the entire production cycle.
To achieve these goals, KME had to deal with an extremely heterogeneous production environment: 11 plants of different ages and technologies, with automation systems layered over time and a huge amount of heterogeneous data to manage.
The Solution
Alleantia has created an industrial Data Platform based on:
- Alleantia IoT Gateway for interconnecting plant PLCs
- Oracle database for collecting management and production data
- SAS Viya platform for analysis, modelling and visualisation
Thanks to Alleantia Core technology, over 40,000 PLCs are acquired and normalised, consistently mapping process variables, machine statuses, orders and energy consumption. Where necessary, PLCs have been re-prototyped and new sensors (energy, water, steam) installed to ensure data quality and accurate tracking.
I risultati
✅ Energy monitoring for coils
Each product is now associated with its own electricity and gas consumption throughout the manufacturing cycle, allowing inefficiencies to be identified and loads to be optimised.
✅ In-line quality control
Real-time analyses enable you to anticipate anomalies and reduce rework and waste.
✅ Multivariate analysis of yield
The algorithms developed by Alleantia identify correlations between thickness defects and process parameters, providing predictive insights into product quality.
✅ Digital environmental passport
Each coil is accompanied by accurate data on consumption and emissions, supporting transparency towards customers and certifiers.
The KME 5.0 project is a concrete example of ecological and digital transition in the metallurgical industry, where the convergence of industrial IoT, advanced data analysis and process expertise generates tangible value:
- Reduction in waste and energy costs
- Increase in production yield
- Improvement in sustainability and competitiveness
This environment is now a replicable model for other industrial companies seeking efficiency, quality and environmental transparency.
The KME 5.0 – Ecological and Digital Transition project, co-funded by the ARTES 4.0 (PNRR) call for proposals.
“KME 5.0 – Analytics for sustainability and innovation”
Hai qualche domanda per noi?
Contattaci!