Walzholz
| CD Wälzholz GmbH & Co. KG
|
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Limited partnership |
| founding | 1829 |
| Seat |
Hagen , Germany
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| management |
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| Number of employees | 2,400 |
| sales | 950 million euros |
| Branch | Metal processing |
| Website | www.waelzholz.com |
| Status: July 2020 | |
The CD Wälzholz GmbH & Co. KG is an international manufacturer of cold-rolled and heat-treated steel strips and profiles. Head office and main plants are located in Hagen in North Rhine-Westphalia .
history
1829-1865
The namesake of the company, Casper Diederich Wälzholz (1787–1860), founded a wire drawing factory in the Nahmertal in Hohenlimburg in Westphalia in 1829 . One of the first successful products was so-called weaving looms , from which looms were made for mechanical looms . In 1845 Wälzholz founded the "Rietefabrik des Casper D. Wälzholz", in which 660 quintals of finished products were produced annually. In 1857, Wälzholz passed the business on to his son Ludwig. This replaced the originally used water power of Nahm Erbach by a 12 hp - steam engine , for a large factory hall was built.
1866-1918
In 1866 Waelzholz began to produce crinoline sticks for hoop skirts . At the same time, other possible applications for cold-rolled steel emerged: screws, for example, but also parts for musical instruments , sewing machines and bicycles were made from the material. Ludwig Wälzholz senior died in 1874. Ludwig Wälzholz junior (1854–1939) managed the company from then on, supported by his brothers August and Gisbert. A boom that began around 1895 favored a further structural and personnel expansion of the company.
In 1908 Waelzholz founded the Union-Gesellschaft für Metallindustrie GmbH in Fröndenberg together with the bicycle parts manufacturer Feuerhake & Cie and built another cold rolling mill between 1906 and 1910. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War , cold rolling made up 70 percent of production, the rest was accounted for by drawing bars and wire. Before the outbreak of war, the automotive industry and the newly emerging electrical industry were important customers. A quarter of sales were exported: within Europe , but also to Japan , South Africa and the USA .
1919-1945
In 1919 Günther Wälzholz (1889–1970), and in 1921 Ludwig Wälzholz 'son-in-law Hans Junius, joined the management. During the inflationary period , Waelzholz profited from the export business, which brought the company foreign currency . An upswing followed from the mid-1920s, and the company successfully manufactured Paragon steels for umbrellas. In 1937 Hans Junius became personally liable managing director. During the Second World War , the Waelzholz factory worked for the metal goods and armaments industry and was involved in the "hunter program" for the manufacture of new types of fighter aircraft. Due to the scarcity of raw materials and the deterioration of the infrastructure due to the war, parts of the plant were shut down in 1941.
1945-1959
The Waelzholz works were largely spared damage from air raids , but production was prohibited after the war. In 1946, Junius received the “small permit” to restart production. Mainly household appliances were made from the raw materials . The “big permit” for the resumption of rolling mills and drawing mills followed in 1947. With the currency reform in 1948, an upswing set in again, followed by another plant expansion in the 1950s. In 1953, Hans Martin Junius, Eckart Wälzholz-Junius and Dieter Wälzholz took over the business and pushed ahead with the modernization of the company. Between 1952 and 1955, Waelzholz grew to become the largest strip hardening shop in Europe. The bar drawing plant was closed in 1956, and a further modernization began in the late 1950s with the production of cold-rolled electrical strips. It was a reaction to the increasing demand from the electrical and automotive industries .
1960-1990
The following years were characterized by expansion: in 1962 and 1969 new plants were opened in Hagen-Fley, and in 1973 Brasmetal Waelzholz SA in São Paulo , Brazil . The expansion of the company also encouraged social engagement: In 1982 Inge Wälzholz-Junius founded Pro Integration Bildungsstätten GmbH to train mentally handicapped and learning-handicapped young people.
1990-2005
In 1990 Hans-Toni Junius and graduate economist Herbert Otten took over the management. Waelzholz specialized in the areas of carbon steel and electrical steel . In 2000 the former Hoesch plant in Hagen-Kabel was bought. After the takeover of the Plettenberg company Kaltwalzwerk Brockhaus GmbH, CD Wälzholz-Produktions-GmbH in Hagen and Kaltwalzwerk Brockhaus GmbH, which supplemented the Waelzholz product range with sorbitic and bainitic tempered strip steel, merged to form CD Wälzholz GmbH with 1,000 employees. In order to be able to cut and deliver strip steel in smaller quantities, Waelzholz set up a service center in Iserlohn for the German market and in Cleveland / Ohio for the North American market. In 2003 another service center followed in Thiers , France . The special product of steel profiles for ski edges has been manufactured in Götzis / Austria since 1993 .
Since 2005
In 2005, Hans-Toni Junius took over the management of the company as Chairman of the Management Board . 2007 took Wälzholz with two offices in the People's Republic of China in the Far East market: In Taicang are the service center Wälzholz New Material (Taicang) Co., Ltd. and Taicang-Waelzholz - Kern-Liebers New Material Co., Ltd. The third branch, CD Waelzholz Asia in Hong Kong , was responsible for sales in Asia from the beginning of 2008 to the end of 2012. In 2011 Waelzholz took over the majority stake in Brasmetal Waelzholz SA in São Paulo . With the expansion of the Taicang location in 2014, the former service center became the first German cold rolling company, Waelzholz New Material (Taicang) Co., Ltd. with local full production in China. In 2016, Waelzholz acquired the systems and business for cold-rolled strip steel from Wickeder Westfalenstahl GmbH at the Wickede (Ruhr) location . This takeover enables the Waelzholz Group to expand its core business with cold-rolled steel strips, in particular to include other special electrical steel products that are used in the field of electromobility.
On June 14, 2017 it was announced that Waelzholz would acquire the shares in Friedr. Gustav Theis Kaltwalzwerke (Theis Group) has completely acquired. After approval by the cartel authorities, the takeover was completed on July 6, 2017. With the takeover, Waelzholz expanded its core business with cold-rolled steel strips and profiles and added the specialty stainless precision steel to its own portfolio.
Production sites
Waelzholz has production facilities and service centers in Germany , Austria , France , the USA , Brazil and Asia . The main Waelzholz plant and other production sites are concentrated in Hagen . The main administration with the areas of central materials technology, process development and quality management is located in Hagen-Fley. In the Hagen-Nord, Fley, Kabel, Halden and Hohenlimburg production facilities, cold-rolled, non-tempered and martensitically tempered strip steels, flat wire products, profiles as well as the special products of stainless precision strip steel and electrical steel are manufactured. In Plettenberg , besides sorbitic tempered steel strip (Sorbitex) and PT strip for flat and shaped springs, special products of different hardness levels and strip thicknesses are manufactured. The Oberkochen site specializes in non-tempered strip steel and in bonded strip and in Iserlohn there is also a service center geared towards smaller batches. In addition to high-quality steel strip, special electrical steel materials are rolled at the Wickede (Ruhr) location . B. be used for motors in the field of electromobility. The core competence of CD Waelzholz International GmbH in Götzis , Austria, is the manufacture and sale of stamped and bent parts from tempered and non-tempered strips and profiles, especially for the ski and snowboard industry.
Products
Strip steel
Waelzholz strip steel is primarily processed in the automotive supply industry , for example in safety-relevant parts such as airbags , seat belts or seat rails and wherever special solutions for fuel-saving technology are required. The spectrum for industrial applications ranges from the furniture industry to industrial products and plant construction in offshore technology. Characteristic properties of steel strip are, for example, high strength combined with good formability and low weight.
Quenched and tempered steel strip
Waelzholz produces strip steel in martensitic, sorbitic (Sorbitex) and bainitic (PT-strip) structures. Quenched and tempered steel strip is used, for example, for saws or for flat and shaped springs. Application examples are hedge trimmer blades, automatic retraction systems for seat belts or dog leashes .
High strength strip steel
The basis for high-strength strip steels are micro-alloyed fine-grain steels, which have high strength and excellent formability at the same time. They are used, for example, for the production of structural seat elements and transmission slats.
Surface-refined steel strip
Phosphated steel strips (Bonder strips) are strip steel treated with soap and phosphate with lubricant layers of different thicknesses , which enable extreme forming processes in further processing. Waelzholz customers use this to manufacture, for example, bucket tappets for valve control in combustion engines or needle roller bearings for mountain bike pedals.
The galvanized surfaces are coated with zinc, zinc-nickel, nickel, copper, brass or tin. The material thus receives improved corrosion protection, increased electrical conductivity or a decorative surface.
Steel strip profiles
Waelzholz produces strip steel profiles in over 250 different shapes, for example for use as ski edges, wheel bushings or as a locking ring in engine and mechanical engineering.
Electrical steel
The electromagnetic steel material electrical steel is found, among other things, in transformers , generators and electric motors that are used in modern hybrid vehicles, for example .
Flat wire products
The flat wire products are manufactured as spring, tempered and case-hardened steel as well as soft, unalloyed steel. The narrow strips with freely configurable edge shapes are used where small formats have to be able to withstand high loads, such as spring rails for windshield wipers.
Stainless precision strip steel
In addition to corrosion resistance, stainless precision strip steel from Waelzholz is characterized by high heat and acid resistance. Further technological properties such as deep-drawing, bending or punching are set with the main alloy elements chromium and nickel, as well as additions of molybdenum, niobium or titanium. Areas of application can be found in medical technology or in safety-relevant components in the automotive industry and electrical engineering.
Situation today
Waelzholz materials are increasingly used in technologies for energy generation and saving. The group of companies supplies the automotive supply industry with high-strength materials that help reduce weight in vehicle construction. In addition, electrical steel is used in alternative drive systems such as hybrid and electric drives or start-stop systems to save fuel. This material is also used in the construction of generators for wind turbines .
With an annual production of over 42,000 km of ski and snowboard edges, the company is the world market leader. The market share in the USA is over 90%, in Europe around 60%.
In addition, research partnerships are maintained with German universities. Waelzholz is a member of the fineblanking working group (AKF) at the WZL machine tool laboratory at RWTH Aachen University , an association of experts in the field of fineblanking technology and companies from the fields of tool technology, lubricant technology, materials technology and systems engineering.
literature
- CD Wälzholz GmbH & Co. KG (publisher): 175 years of the CD Wälzholz group of companies. Hagen, 2004, without ISBN.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c management
- ↑ Company history: The world market (1874–1919) Ludwig Wälzholz the Younger ( Memento from May 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
- ↑ Florian Langenscheidt , Bernd Venohr (Hrsg.): Lexicon of German world market leaders. The premier class of German companies in words and pictures . German Standards Editions, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-86936-221-2 .
- ↑ Fineblanking Working Group (AKF)
Coordinates: 51 ° 23 '34.6 " N , 7 ° 29' 54.9" E