Galvanizing plants kept precisely tuned thanks to the Ewon Flexy

Hasco-Thermic Ltd is a world leader in the design and manufacture of hot-dip galvanizing plant and maintains its reputation with constant innovation and development. For 50 years, Hasco-Thermic has been known for supplying and installing reliable, efficient and durable galvanizing plants all over the world.

Traditionally, galvanizing is an energy intensive process. Hasco-Thermic relies on HMS Networks Ewon Flexy’s secure remote connectivity to support metal treatment companies cutting energy costs while also optimizing maintenance and quality. Today, using the Ewon Flexy solution, it can integrate communications between galvanizing plants, wherever they are in the world, and its own engineering offices, so that production can be optimized. 

This improves customer service, reduces energy consumption, ensures quality and maximizes plant utilization. It also enables Hasco’s skilled and experienced engineers to provide support to customers based on live process data.

Leveraging the Ewon Flexy to monitor galvanizing plants

Hasco Remote Solution is a cloud-based, data management solution which provides a secure and reliable method to connect with web-enabled devices in galvanizing plants, anywhere in the world. It uses the connectivity of the Ewon Flexy gateways to create a Virtual Private Network (VPN) over the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). 

Through this system based on the Ewon Flexy, Hasco is able to provide each client with a bespoke, comprehensive, remote connectivity solution designed around their hot-dip galvanizing operations. This allows each client to work seamlessly and confidentially with Hasco’s specialists to optimize production through real-time plant monitoring. 

Using the Ewon Flexy enables Hasco-Thermic to collect process data from its galvanizer clients, which can then be analysed in real time to help cut energy consumption, reduce downtime and improve quality management.

Dr Xinyi Liu, R&D Manager, Hasco-Thermic Ltd

Data and event logging, as well as alarm management, are automatically uploaded to the client’s customized web-server web pages. This enables deep analysis, so that processes can be optimized over a long time the long term, plus archiving for historic event recall.  SMS and e-mailing capabilities complete the package provided through Hasco Remote Solution. The Ewon Flexy creates connectivity through Ethernet WAN, 3G/4G or WIFI, with many systems using more than one of these options. It also enables Hasco Remote Solution to support a wide range of devices such as PLCs, relay logic control systems, gas and electricity meters, and IP cameras.

In processes as demanding as galvanizing, alarm management is of great importance, both for immediate response and for later analysis of events. The alarm management of Hasco Remote Solution (made possible through the Ewon Flexy) is based on cloud storage of every alarm event from PLCs and other devices in the galvanizer control system.

Dr Xinyi Liu is the manager in charge of developing Hasco Remote Solution and explains: “With remote access to our clients’ plants, Hasco’s dedicated engineering team can develop products and services from a data-driven perspective that is unique to each site. The immediate objective is to control energy consumption. That is closely followed by reducing downtime through predictive maintenance and quality management.”

He describes the remote connectivity of galvanizing plants as a game changer for site engineers’ routines: “They no longer have to attend site for every fault on the furnace. They can access critical information from wherever they are and resolve issues immediately.”

A highly versatile industrial gateway

Connectivity is proving to be a powerful driver for increasing production efficiency, but confidentially must be guaranteed. The Ewon Flexy establishes a remote connection while creating a highly secure Virtual Private Network (VPN), so that operational and production data can be collected and transferred to remote sites securely.

The Ewon Flexy can be used in many roles. Machine builders can use it to check how their equipment is functioning in the field. Plant engineers can monitor their equipment remotely, perform trend analyses and proactively plan maintenance. Production engineers can manage operations remotely and in real time. Senior managers can use it to ensure that data can be logged automatically to provide full track and trace capabilities. 

Another great advantage of the Ewon Flexy is that it supports all the major PLC protocols, while bespoke solutions can also be created. The Talk2m industrial cloud service is included for  free for PLC remote troubleshooting.

Conclusion

With the Ewon Flexy, Hasco-Thermic leverages its customers’ data and provides proactive customer service through trend analysis. This also helps reduce energy consumption and machine downtime. In the end, all stakeholders reap the benefits of remote industrial connectivity.