The purchase of Kiln Flame Systems (KFS) is set to provide Metso with new computational fluid dynamics (CFD) design and analysis expertise, says Jonathan Allen, Vice President, Engineered Products, at the Finland-based mining OEM.

Following news Metso had completed the purchase yesterday, IM put a few questions to Allen to find out some of the reasons behind the transaction.

IM: Why has the company looked to acquire KFS now? What market signals have you been receiving to indicate increased demand for the type of tailored products KFS produces?

JA: Our customers’ demand for energy efficient solutions and increased reliability of their kilns and other pyro processing equipment has been increasing steadily. Also, our customers are facing the challenge of losing some of the operational expertise with a retiring workforce. By Metso and KFS joining forces, we are able to address these demands simultaneously to deliver the results they require, cost effectively and with minimal disruption to their existing operations.

IM: How important is KFS’ “mastery of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for burner design and system analysis” to the deal? Will Metso be able to leverage this capability across its existing pyro processing portfolio?

JA: Metso’s primary focus has been on general process and mechanical upgrades to improve the performance of pyro processing equipment. With KFS’ CFD capability, we are able to model the entire system to optimise all the possible changes and upgrades to a kiln system.

IM: Out of all of your product offerings within the pyro processing group, which one is set to benefit most from this acquisition?

JA: The KFS technology is applicable to the majority of our equipment portfolio. Our immediate focus will be with rotary kilns, where KFS is a technology leader, but quickly expanding more into burner and combustion systems for iron ore pelletising processes.