Automation | Centrum Pæle

Upgrade of control system on automated production plant

Init has been in charge of an extensive upgrade of the control system at Centrum Pæle's automated production facilities. The control was migrated from Siemens STEP7 to TIA and has helped to future-proof Centrum Pæle's production.

Centrum Pæle was established in 1965 and is primarily engaged in the production of foundation piles for the construction industry. For many years, the company has had a strong focus on continuously optimising production through automation.

 

This focus on automation is not only driven by an ambition to increase efficiency and reliability, but also to optimise the working environment and make work easier for employees by, for example, reducing heavy lifting or repetitive work.

 

Init fully shares this philosophy, and perhaps that is why we are one of Centrum Pæle’s preferred automation suppliers. We have many joint projects below our belts and in 2024 and the 1st half of 2025, we have together carried out a major upgrade of the control system across four of Centrum Pæle’s production units, which you can read more about below.

Centrum Pæles fabrik i Vejle set fra luften

ambition

Future-proofing automated production plants

Centrum Pæle wanted to future-proof their automatic production units, which are located in Denmark, Sweden, England and Poland, respectively. The production facilities consist of in-house developed fully automatic welding machines for reinforcement mesh and concrete casting plants for the production of foundation piles.

 

The controls at the plants were mainly based on Siemens STEP7 and S7-300 PLCs from the 2000s and early 2010s. Centrum Pæle therefore wanted to replace both automation software and hardware to achieve a more modern and future-proof production control.

 

To ensure a minimum of downtime on the production units during the replacement of PLC equipment, Centrum Pæle wanted to recreate the running software applications one-to-one in connection with the upgrades. This wish applied to both PLC, drives and HMI WinCC Comfort. Here, Centrum Pæle also focused on ensuring that all hardware components could be replaced one-to-one to the greatest extent possible in order to minimise corrections in documentation and assembly work during replacement.

Operatør ved kontrolanlæg

Solution

Upgrading both hardware and software

We began by clarifying which options and solutions would best support the upgrade of the control system. Our goal was to minimise any impact on ongoing production during the upgrade project.

 

For example, with the help of Siemens Mall product support, we identified and located the plants and individual components that were most critical in terms of service life, support, delivery time and prices. To determine which new hardware components were needed, we created new PLC configurations in the Siemens Selection Tool corresponding to the existing systems.

 

With the lifecycle reports and an overview of new PLC equipment in hand, we worked with Centrum Pæle to prepare plans and budgets for upgrading the control system.

Migrating control from STEP7 to TIA

To meet the customer’s request to recreate the running software applications one-to-one, it was necessary to migrate from Siemens STEP7 Manager to the latest Siemens TIA Portal version.

 

For the welding machine upgrades, we also switched the existing SCADA programmes (iFix) to Siemens WinCC. The goal was to get SCADA/HMI to work more closely with the PLC control, and make it easier for Centrum Pæle because there are several experts in Siemens products and only one platform to maintain.

 

At the same time, this meant that we had to create a new user interface from scratch. Here, the choice fell on WinCC Unified to be as well equipped as possible for the future.

 

We then started the migration from STEP7 to TIA on both welding and casting machines across Centrum Pæle’s production facility in Vejle.

Init supported us with the upgrade of one of our cage welding machines. New Siemens PLC including safety modules and new IPC were combined to improve the performance and safety of the machine whilst ensuring continued support as obsolete hardware was replaced.

 

Thorough pre-install planning and support from Init being crucial to a smooth installation and commissioning, keeping production downtime to a minimum. The upgrade of our second cage welder is now planned following the success of the first.

Shaun Sutton, Plant Process & Improvement Manager, Centrum Pile, Newark

Upgrade of welding machines

Initially, we developed the new user interface in WinCC United for the welding machine in Vejle. We worked closely together with Centrum Pæle’s engineers and production staff to develop functions, design and testing to ensure the best possible handover. The work included extensive investigation work to facilitate correct use of tags from the iFix system. Another fun little challenge at the first plant in Denmark, which was to retain the S7-319 PLC, was that the recipes in WinCC Unified used a data format that the existing S7-319 could not handle. To solve that, we added an additional S7-1511 as an interface.

 

We managed to complete the replacement from IFix to Siemens WinCC Unified, having to stop production at the welding machine in only one production shift.

 

From here, we moved onto the welding machines in Sweden, England and Poland, where we – based on the same project model – replaced and migrated the control system to the TIA portal. The conversions were carried out efficiently with on-site support and electrical supervision from Init, ensuring that we kept to project schedules.

 

Replacement of PLC, IPC, IM modules and more than 530 IO points including Scalance WIFI AP and CM, was completed in approx. 9-10 days including two weekends. On day 10, Centrum Pæle was able to produce again with onsite support for the next few days.

 

Upgrade of casting machines

Based on existing machines in Denmark and Sweden, we designed two new casting machines for Poland with manual operation, but prepared for future automation.

 

We completed the upgrade of the second casting machine in Denmark in the summer of 2024 with new PLC, IO and HMI, converted from TP277 to 12″ WinCC Comfort. In the autumn of 2024, we upgraded the Swedish machine with approx. 240 IO points, safety functions and 15″ HMI. Centrum Pæle’s Swedish team was responsible for the conversion, while Init handled commissioning and production monitoring.

New robot main PLC CPU

We successfully upgraded the control systems of both our welding robot and casting machine at the factory in Kollanda, Sweden. The welding robot received a full hardware and software upgrade with a new user interface, while the casting machine was upgraded with new hardware.

 

Thanks to excellent collaboration between Centrum Pile staff, the local electricians and the Danish Init team, the commissioning challenges were solved step by step. The result is a future-proofed system that is both more user-friendly and flexible, ensuring reliable production and providing a solid foundation for further development.

Björn Cullbrand, Technical Manager, Centrum Pæle, Kollanda

Result

Modern control ensures maximum uptime – now and in the future

The upgrade of the control systems has strengthened Centrum Pæle’s production facilities on several parameters, e.g.,

 

  • Improved user interface operation
  • Faster fault identification and localisation
  • Higher security
  • Uniform control across production facilities

 

Together, the improvements have helped Centrum Pæle ensure maximum uptime for production by minimising the risk of unplanned stoppages. Moreover, the upgrade has created a better foundation for increasing the quality of the end product as well as traceability in production.

Støbemaskine i støberihallen på Centrum Pæles produktionsfabrik i Vejle

Init and Centrum Pæle’s collaboration has worked perfectly in terms of developing common screens and functions on the WinCC part. Init’s proposed layout was reviewed in the project’s selected factories.

 

Commissioning has been unproblematic and subsequently there have been virtually no errors, and the experience here afterwards is that the system runs with a much greater uptime and, not least, a much better user experience.

Henrik Olsen, Factory Manager, Centrum Pæle, Vejle

Init's deliveries

The upgrade project consists of several sub-projects that Init completed over the course of 16 months:

  • 2 new casting plants in Poland, incl. delivery of control cabinets, PLC and drive equipment
  • Upgrade of 1 casting plant in Sweden from S7-300 to S7-1500 incl. PLC, HMI and drive equipment
  • Upgrade of 2 casting plants in Denmark/Vejle from S7-300 to S7-1500 incl. PLC, HMI and drive equipment
  • Development and delivery of new SCADA for welding machines in Denmark/Vejle from iFix to WinCC Unified
  • Upgrade of 1 welding machine in Sweden for PLC and SCADA at respectively. S7-300 to S7-1500 incl. PLC and drive equipment and from iFix to WinCC Unified
  • Upgrade of 1 welding machine in the UK for PLC and SCADA at respectively. S7-300 to S7-1500 incl. PLC and drive equipment as well as from iFix to WinCC Unified. Extra option Safety PLC
  • Upgrade of 1 welding machine in the UK for PLC and SCADA at respectively. S7-300 to S7-1500 incl. PLC and drive equipment as well as from iFix to WinCC Unified. Extra option Safety PLC
  • Upgrade to Safety PLC at welding machine in Sweden
  • Development and delivery of new MES/ERP communication with SIA connect for welding machine and 5 crane controls

The technical details

We have used hardware from Siemens for the upgrade of Centrum Pæle’s production control:

 

  • 8 pcs. S7-1500 CPU/PLC (S7-1511, S7-1515F, S7-1517F)
  • 2267 pcs. Standard IO (ET200MP, ET200SP, ET200pro)
  • 547 pcs. Failsafe IO (ET200MP, ET200SP)
  • 4 pcs. IPC WinCC Unfied RT
  • 4 pcs. HMI WinCC Unfied
  • 4 pcs. HMI WinCC Comfort
  • 4 sets Scalance WIFI (Access Point, Client module, antennas)
  • 17 pcs.   Frequency converter (G120C 3-5.5 kW)
Control panel

About Centrum Pæle

Centrum Pæle was established in 1965 and primarily produces a standard range of foundation piles and foundations for railway electrification.

 

Focus on automation

Throughout the 1980s, Centrum Pæle began to automate production, including the development of a welding machine for reinforcement mesh, which was put into use in 1990. The welding machine at the Vejle facility in Denmark, was put into operation in 1996 and has produced an average of approx. 6-700,000 meters of reinforcement mesh per year.

 

Today, Centrum Pæle has production in Vejle and Hedensted as well as at sister companies in Sweden, England, Poland and Germany with a total of 7 production units. All production facilities have a high degree of automated production for both welding of reinforcement mesh and concrete casting in moulds.

 

Read more about Centrum Pæle

Centrum Pæles fabrik i Vejle set fra luften

Reach out

for more information

Allan Enghild Pedersen

Head of Projects

+45 29 69 21 75

[email protected]

Init Horsens, Denmark

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