Precision blanks for tailored solutions.

Demands on steel are rising continuously. Environmental aspects and high processing requirements are playing an increasingly important role. And it is precisely here that the service offering from the ThyssenKrupp steel service centers comes in: with their network of facilities in Germany and abroad, many routes are becoming shorter. Customers receive first-rate steel technology combined with consulting expertise in material, design and processing issues. Key customers now only need a single contact thanks to the key account teams at ThyssenKrupp Steel and the steel service centers: from coil through slit strip to precision blanks. The customer is supported throughout the production process: beginning with material selection in the product development phase to day-to-day processing and just-in-time delivery in the required packaging. Storage of starting materials ensures material availability. Sophisticated logistics concepts combined with flexible production make it possible to adapt to all production wishes and save valuable time and costs. Individual IT solutions provide support for customers and e.g. access to integrated scheduling and delivery planning systems. The product range includes hot- and cold-rolled, high-strength, metallic- and organic-coated steels, tinplate strip/sheet and stainless steel.

The Radebeul and Bochum facilities have specialized in blanks - with production in thicknesses of 0.4 - 3 millimeters, widths of 300 - 2,000 millimeters and lengths of up to 6,000 millimeters. Ongoing investment in production lines makes it possible to fulfill all customer wishes, both now and in the future. All shapes are possible - rectangular, trapezoidal, rhomboid, curved and triangular. The modern Georg cut-to-length line with swiveling shears in Radebeul can produce even the most customized blanks. Bochum provides the perfect solution for exposed body parts with a line which enables the required surface quality of the starting material to be retained through processing. The FAGOR rotating shears enable a significant increase in flexibility and productivity, even with cutting angles of up to 35 degrees. A magnetic stacker can work in continuous or start-stop mode. Even “postage stamp sizes” - 35 millimeters long and 300 millimeters wide - can be produced using the AMADA high-performance shears. These “mini blanks” are used e.g. in car and truck seats or other stampings by supply companies. Blanks have long proven themselves in practice. Some customers cannot produce them themselves or only with significant scrap losses.

The areas of application are as diverse as the possibilities for adapting to each individual customer due to the wide variety of steel grades and dimensions. Automotive manufacturers use trapezoidal blanks and non-standard shapes for e.g. outer panels. Well-known truck manufacturers and major automotive supply companies have also long been aware of their practical advantages. The possibilities are also endless in other areas of application such as industrial washing machines and dryers or in individual interior fittings.

(Stahlmarkt, February 2006)