New pilot plant for Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH

Leading pan-European position in steel research

Salzgitter AG's new pilot plant strengthens its position as a premium supplier of steel materials. "Research and development forms a key basis of our Group's overall strategy of operating as a successful niche player," as Dr. Wolfgang Leese, Chairman of the Executive Board of Salzgitter AG, stated a recent presentation for customers and business partners.

The new pilot plant is a core area of Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH (SZMF), which, as a 100% group subsidiary, forms the group's central research and development department.

Around €11 million has been invested in large-scale equipment and buildings in Salzgitter. "We now enjoy a leading pan-European position in application-oriented research and development for steel," explained SZMF Managing Director, Prof. Matthias Niemeyer.

The new pilot plant steps up the development pace of new steel materials, and advances process optimization. This creates the foundation for short product launch times, and robust series processes for customers.

"We are not only called on to respond to tomorrow's markets in a timely manner, but will also be playing a part in shaping and designing them," said Prof. Niemeyer. "This is why there will be an even greater focus on these aspects of process and product development in the future. The pilot plant is an important building block in this respect,"

The new pilot plant: The completion of the new pilot plant now allows all key steel production processes and methods to be simulated on a basis that very closely approximates real conditions, ranging from metallurgy, through rolling and surface technology, to steel materials processing. Important new items of the large-scale equipment include a laboratory mill, an annealing simulator, a hot dip simulator, and a metal forming press.

Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH is the central research company of the Salzgitter Group. It performs extensive research and development work related to steel materials, with around 300 employees allocated to six departments located in Salzgitter and Duisburg.

Besides Salzgitter AG companies, customers include numerous leading companies from various industrial areas such as the automotive industry, mechanical and plant engineering, energy technology, and the construction industry.