187 deployments in nine years
A plant that never fully stops is cleaned one furnace at a time
Initial situation
An aluminium plant runs ten holding furnaces and one collector. The line runs through; shutting down every furnace at once is out of the question. Since 2018 SBS has therefore cleaned them one after another — furnace by furnace, in the rhythm of production. By August 2026 that had become 187 deployments across nine consecutive years.
Scope of services
- Holding furnace
- Furnace cleaning
- Beam breakout
- Collector
- Ongoing care
Project data
The task
There is no shutdown window for the plant, only for the individual furnace — and production sets it, not the calendar
A plant that runs through needs the cleaning when it fits: at the weekend, on a public holiday, in the line's quiet hours
Build-up and dross settle differently on every furnace. Someone who does not know the furnace spends the first hours looking
At this number of deployments it is not the single cleaning that decides the relationship, but reliability over years
The SBS approach
The furnaces are taken out one at a time, never several at once. That keeps the line in operation while one unit is being worked on.
39 of the 187 deployments began on a Sunday, four on a Saturday, one on a public holiday. When production sets the window, the crew works to it.
Over the years each furnace has its own history: where it closes up, how long it takes, which beam comes away with the breakout. That is not in a manual — the crew carries it.
Alongside the cleaning, the small things run with it: knocking out beams, sills, care work on the collector. The furnace goes back into service cared for, not merely emptied.
Measurable results
The key figures of the “187 deployments in nine years” project
Similar references
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