Specialized Contribution

Crude oil and natural gas are amongst the most important energy suppliers in our modern world. For power generation or as fuel for vehicles – the possible applications of these fossil fuels are manifold. Seamless tubes are used for the safe and low-loss production of crude oil and natural gas and their transportation from production sites to further processing. These tubes are manufactured in state-of-the-art PQF (Premium Quality Finishing) mills and FQM (Fine Quality Mills) using a mandrel bar, which is fastened to the mill by means of a special thread (buttress thread) together with two auxiliary tools (extension and tail pieces). Extreme precision is required during thread cutting to ensure that the inside and outside thread fit into one another in a form-locked manner. Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH produces mandrel bars with precisely fitting buttress threads from hot-work tool steels – in a comprehensive process comprising steel melting to prefabrication to the ready-to-install tool. The right material, an efficient production process and precision are the factors which guarantee a flawless product.

They hold everything together – screws and nails. But before they come on the market, they have undergone a long manufacturing process. They are produced from coated wire rod. Companies like Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH cover the wire rod with a phosphate coat, to protect the surface of the workpiece and tools from damage during subsequent cold massive forming at the customer. Depending on further processing of the coated material – whether it is drawing or cold upsetting – the company adapts the thickness of the phosphate coat to individual customer requirements. To guarantee the quality of the material in the long term, it is important to check the coating thickness accurately and reliably. Sebastian Bange, employee of Deutsche Edelstahlwerke in the technology department in Hagen, Germany, has developed a new procedure for measuring the phosphate coating thickness of wire rod. The benefits: it saves time and provides accurate and reproducible results. What he initialy devised within the scope of his Bachelor’s thesis as joint degree student has now been patented. Since the end of 2011 the company has performed the tests according to the new procedure at its location in Hagen.

Deutsche Edelstahlwerke has worked with Rheinkraft International GmbH, one of the leading providers of logistical services in steel transportation, to develop a patent that will make transporting high-temperature goods by truck under covers even safer, more efficient and resource-conserving in future. In January, this new development was presented to trade professionals at a health and safety conference in Essen, Germany, organized by the BGHM (German Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Wood and Metal Industry).

After 35 years in the steel industry, Karl Haase, the present Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH, is retiring. In December he took leave of colleagues, employees and business partners and handed over the chair to the Managing Director, Jürgen Horsthofer, as of 1 January 2012. MEDIUM X spoke with both gentlemen about the past and future of Deutsche Edelstahlwerke, whose development has always been closely related to the progression of the entire steel industry.

The economy in Asia, Russia, Brazil or the United Arab Emirates is booming – and so is steel, the material at the very beginning of the value-added chain. To be able to take part in the rapid development of emerging countries as a European exporter, firms in the steel industry can no longer rely solely on their core competence, the production of high-quality products, but must stand out in highly competitive markets with a variety of services. With its array of products and services, Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH has laid the foundations for long-term success in the new markets and also profits decisively from its integration in the internationally operating alliance of the SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH Group. At the beginning of December, the company demonstrated what exactly lies behind these three pillars of success to visitors at the Euromold in Frankfurt, the internationally leading trade fair for tool and mould design and construction and product development.