To shorten the tough sugar cane before it is mashed in a huge mill, the knives in the sugar refining equipment had to slice through the fiber-rich cane stalk as well as resist the acid-like sugar juice. Only tough, wear-resistant blades could get the job done.
Ingenio de Atencingo decided to switch its knife steel to wear-resistant Hardox® 500, making its knife blades last three times longer than the ones it previously used.
“The Hardox® steel in the knives helps us to slash maintenance time,” says Plant Manager Metrobio Garcia. “Being able to avoid unnecessary downtime is really vital for us. Not only are the blades lasting longer, but the end result is better, too.”