SteelNews.com Article
ThyssenKrupp Stainless Reorganizes to Create High-Performance Materials Unit
Jul. 3, 2009 ThyssenKrupp Stainless AG is transferring the activities of ThyssenKrupp Titanium GmbH to ThyssenKrupp VDM GmbH and combined them into a specialized high-performance materials unit. The Stainless group expects the reorganization to provide more growth opportunities for the titanium business.
At present, the company carries out its titanium operations in Germany by ThyssenKrupp Titanium GmbH (Essen) and in Italy by ThyssenKrupp Titanium SpA (Terni), both of which are assigned to ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni. The Essen plant melts titanium sponge and scrap into titanium ingots and slabs and processes them into billets, bars and sheet. Further processing to coil, tube and sheet takes place at the Terni facility, with key production steps being carried out by ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni.
Under the reorganization, ThyssenKrupp Titanium’s worldwide sales operations, including the Milan sales office as well as the Essen production site, will be transferred to ThyssenKrupp VDM (Werdohl), which produces nickel alloys and high-alloy special stainless steels. ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni will retain responsibility for the further processing operations in Terni.
“The reorganization will significantly strengthen the high-performance materials business in the Stainless group,” emphasized Dr. Jürgen Olbrich, Chairman of the Management Board at ThyssenKrupp VDM.
“Combining our operations in this specialty area makes good sense, not least because ThyssenKrupp Titanium and ThyssenKrupp VDM already share markets such as the aircraft industry and the chemical and energy sectors and have strong overlaps in their customer relationships,” Olbrich continued. “ThyssenKrupp Stainless believes that the planned growth strategy for titanium can be realized more effectively as part of a combined group under the leadership of ThyssenKrupp VDM with its global sales and distribution network. In addition, the reorganization will allow the more efficient use of purchasing, sales and administrative capacities.”
Reorganization of ThyssenKrupp Stainless, which is part of the overall restructuring of the ThyssenKrupp Group, has been approved by the Supervisory Board, and the merger will take effect at October 1, 2009.
ThyssenKrupp VDM and ThyssenKrupp Titanium, both companies of the ThyssenKrupp Stainless group (Duisburg/Germany), are world-leading suppliers of high-performance materials. ThyssenKrupp VDM has around 1750 employees at production sites in Werdohl, Altena, Unna, and Siegen, Germany as well as in the USA. It also has a global sales and distribution organization. In 2007/08 the company shipped roughly 43,000 tonnes of nickel alloys and high-alloy special stainless steels. ThyssenKrupp Titanium has production facilities in Essen (165 employees) and Terni (140 employees) and manufactured around 4300 tonnes of titanium products in the past fiscal year.