Cray Valley: Polymer manufacturer deploys AVEVA technology for better efficiency and flexibility
Cray Valley, part of the multinational Total, is a global leader in polymer additives, coatings, and resin production for construction, automotive, and chemical sectors. To ensure long-term efficiency and product quality, the facility modernized its outdated control system using AVEVA solutions.
The alkyd resin production area operated on obsolete PLC-based systems and unsupported SCADA software. The outdated architecture posed challenges for maintenance, updates, and scalability. With rising market competition, the new system needed to be implemented swiftly and with minimal disruption to production.
AVEVA technology for Cray Valley was selected for its hardware-agnostic design, fast deployment, and adaptability. It enabled full visibility and control over the production process while minimizing downtime during installation.
Scalable and Resilient Architecture
The implementation used AVEVA System Platform with a Dual Node license, ensuring operational reliability and future expandability across the plant. Reactors involved in serial alkyd resin production became the foundation of this new architecture. AVEVA’s object-based design allowed for seamless integration of control functions—from motor and sensor management to process visualization.
Custom templates were created to present essential data (temperature, pressure, sensor status, etc.) in an intuitive format for operators unfamiliar with IT systems. AVEVA’s structure allowed for real-time interaction with production data, minimizing risks like overheating or tank overflow.
A redundant server setup was included, ensuring uninterrupted operation in the event of system failure. Depending on user roles, the system offers alarms, event logging, historical trend views, scheduling tools, and full traceability of operational actions.
Minimal Downtime and High Operator Adoption
Thanks to experienced system integrators, hardware and software were swapped out within a few days, without affecting production. Operators were quickly trained and tested the system before it went live. AVEVA's simulation tools enabled full testing in a virtual environment before deployment, ensuring reliability upon launch. Final software installation occurred during a long weekend, with fine-tuning completed in just one week.
Long-Term Strategic Benefits
The new AVEVA-based platform provides a reliable foundation for ongoing automation across other production lines. Technical staff value its object-oriented structure, which simplifies expansion and maintenance. Future projects include adding modules for managing serial production with AVEVA InBatch and integrating plant data into the corporate ERP system.
This centralized approach also sets the stage for energy optimization. With critical variables like temperature and pressure under precise control, Cray Valley plans to enhance energy monitoring and resource efficiency in future upgrades.
Conclusion of the AVEVA solution:
Cray Valley’s Mollet plant has successfully transitioned to a modern, scalable, and maintainable control architecture using AVEVA software. The solution has improved operational transparency, reduced maintenance complexity, and laid the groundwork for further digitization and sustainability-driven improvements in polymer production.