ThyssenKrupp Davex GmbH - a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Tailored Blanks - is set to liven up the building, steel and vehicle industries with the production of individualized beams and profiles. From the middle of this year the company will begin operating a pilot facility at Gelsenkirchen/Germany which will join slit strip continuously into profiles and beams using the Davex process.

The company is treading new ground with the technology of roll jointing, invented in 1995 by Ralf Niemeier, commercial manager of ThyssenKrupp Davex GmbH. Unlike conventional processes, the innovative jointing technology allows a mix of materials - different materials such as steel, stainless, aluminum and plastics are assembled into beams and profiles by means of T-joints.

With the Davex process, winner of the 1997 Steel Innovation Prize, ThyssenKrupp Davex GmbH puts an end to austere forms and bland architecture and instead brings unique products to the market which are also functional - important aspects here are weight reduction, thermal and acoustic isolation and crash performance. Applications include reinforcing profiles for light concrete prefabricated parts, hybrid profiles with plastic webs for windows, design profiles for facades, and columns and roof beams in commercial and office building. The versatility of the Davex design beam is illustrated in the Office 2015 building in Menden, an innovation created by architects and industrial designers 3 L: Even transparent beams for glass facades are possible today through the use of perforated strip in the web.

The aim of the young company - established in mid-2002 - is to develop an environmentally friendly, cost-efficient and high-quality production technology which can convert flat material into property-optimized beams and profiles. The pilot plant is expected to turn out its first batches in October 2003, and from 2004 will start producing in all product areas.

Contact:
Erwin Schneider
Tel.: +49 203 / 52 - 2 56 90
Fax: +49 203 / 52 - 2 57 07
e-mail: erwin.schneider@tks.thyssenkrupp.com

Dietmar Stamm
Tel.: +49 203 / 52 - 2 62 67
Fax: +49 203 / 52 - 2 57 07
e-mail: dietmar.stamm@tks.thyssenkrupp.com

On request we would be pleased to send you a CD ROM with photos relating to the subject of building with steel.