New fan blades made from a special aluminium alloy has been developed by thyssenkrupp Schulte (TKS), part of tk's Materials Services business unit, in collaboration with Siemens.
The Materials Services business unit is the biggest materials distributor and service provider in the western world, claims thyssenkrupp. TKS provides made-to-measure products for over 70,000 customers in industry, construction and the trades.
According to TKS, the material is used in generator cooling fans and, it is claimed, will deliver 'significant cost benefits' to the customer.
"The switch from steel to aluminium will provide Siemens with the same functionality at significantly lower cost," said Gerald Mulot, sales manager for major customers at TKS.
TKS will now supply Siemens with several tons of aluminium mill products per year from its logistics centre in Dortmund, Germany, on a just-in-time basis. This, says Mulot, will enable Siemens to concentrate fully on its core activities.