One thought, now that the wire+Tube fair duo is coming nearer: Was there a time when both fairs were actually separate events, at different times, and possibly different places? Within the larger arena of steel processing, wire and tube actually take quite different routes, and they are rarely found in the same house. In the established combination, the wire+Tube fair sets the offbeat to the traditional flat product trade shows in Germany, the Euroblech and the Blechexpo, that take turns in Hanover and Stuttgart.

This issue will provide a comprehensive outlook on 2023 by the International Tube Association ITA, and will also be dealing with the battle for talent in a pipeline industry that is facing a shortage of skilled staff. On the front of wire, wire rod, and related long products, companies such as Danieli, ABS, Kocks and Swiss Steel let us know what’s cooking in their houses, and what will deserve special attention at the fair.

Are we too optimistic when looking at the future cost structure of „green steel“? A provoking question, and much food for thought, aksed by Paul Butterworth of CRU at the worldsteel Forum in Antwerp last year. He gives a breakdown of some of his calculations in the Politics, Business and Economics department of this issue.

Willy Korf was a singular German entrepreneur outside the framework of the established traditional steel companies. He realised ideas against many odds, like building Europe’s first – and so far only – direct-reduction mill in Hamburg. His daughter Astrid today heads a foundation named after her father, and in this issue tells about the ideas that spread from then to now.

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