A pioneering construction site at the Saarstahl subsidiary in Homburg: work is now underway to expand the heat treatment capacity at Saar-Blankstahl. With the decision taken by the Supervisory Board at the end of 2018 to expand the annealing capacity of its subsidiary, Saarstahl AG is responding to an expected increase in worldwide demand for heat-treated bar material and to demand for higher-quality steels, which also play an important role in electric mobility.
The company is investing 17 million euros in this project. Saar-Blankstahl is a specialist in advanced products made from bright bar steel. The company uses state-of-the-art equipment and manufacturing processes to produce innovative and high-quality solutions tailored to customer specifications, above all for the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, the electromechanical industry and the turned parts and rolling bearing industry. Saar-Blankstahl GmbH purchases rolled material exclusively from its parent company Saarstahl AG.
In the first construction phase, the investment comprises the construction of a roughly 4,300 m² hall with complete infrastructure and cranes, a roller hearth furnace for heat treatment and a straightening machine with a corresponding packaging unit. The new heat treatment plant is scheduled to begin operation in autumn 2020. “With this investment we are responding to the wishes of our customers, and as a result, to the increasing demand for heat-treated products for the automotive industry and in mechanical engineering,” said Pascal Port, Managing Director of Saar-Blankstahl. Dr. Klaus Richter, Head of Sales at Saarstahl, added: “As steadfast partners to the automotive industry and its suppliers, Saarstahl and Saar-Blankstahl are working together with our customers to proactively support material and process development with this investment, which is urgently needed to meet the increasing demands for components that are also used in electric mobility.”
Last autumn, the Supervisory Boards of SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar, AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke and Saarstahl AG approved investments totaling almost 90 million euros. In addition to investing in further growth as at Saar-Blankstahl, these investments serve to improve environmental protection (48 million euros alone), improve quality, increase efficiency and boost attractiveness as an employer.