Products and solutions Mar 20, 2000 1:00 AM
MaterialsServices segment: New Thyssen Schulte stainless steel service center processes coils up to 30 tonnes.
Thyssen Schulte GmbH, active across Germany in steel, stainless steel, tubes, nonferrous metals and plastics, has opened a highly specialized stainless steel service center in Dortmund. The second phase of expansion will be completed this summer. The center processes stainless steel coils in weights up to 30 tonnes, slitting them and cutting them to length according to customer specifications and meeting very close tolerances. The range of services also includes surface treatment. The Dortmund stainless steel service center cost 60 million marks to build and is the most modern of its kind in Europe.
The Dortmund stainless steel service center stocks a wide range of specialty steels and produces slit strip and non-standard size sheet from coil to customer order. Cutting to length and slitting are increasingly being performed as a first-stage processing service by large trading companies.
The cut-to-length line produces stainless steel sheets from 300 to 1,600 millimeters wide and 300 to 10,600 millimeters long. Sheet thickness is from 0.3 to 3.5 millimeters. What makes the center unique is its slitting line, capable of handling large coils up to 30 tonnes and producing low-burr cut edges. Slit strip can be supplied in widths from 12 to 1,580 millimeters. In addition there are two narrow strip lines available. They are linked to a common packaging line and offer the ability to process smaller orders flexibly at short notice.
With the aim of offering customers extremely close dimensional tolerances and first-class finishes Thyssen Schulte has invested in efficient machinery and a modern infrastructure supported by comprehensive quality assurance. Particularly important is that all strip and sheet products can be traced back to the starting coil and a specific heat. ISO 9002 certification is being prepared.
In the fast-growing stainless steel market there is increasing demand for processed products in varying lot sizes for delivery at short notice. These include narrow strips and small sheet metal blanks that the stainless mills cannot supply economically. The Thyssen Schulte stainless steel service center provides these products in various grades and finishes at short notice. The advantage for customers it that they can reduce their own often slow-moving inventories and fall back on these first-stage processing services for stainless steel.