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ThyssenKrupp Nirosta to Transfer Production at Benrath to Krefeld

12/03/2010 - ThyssenKrupp Nirosta plans to transfer production at the Benrath plant in the south of Düsseldorf to Krefeld over the next five years, decided the company’s Supervisory Board. Work on the project is expected to commence in Krefeld in 2011.

ThyssenKrupp Nirosta plans to transfer production at the Benrath plant in the south of Düsseldorf to Krefeld over the next five years, decided the company’s Supervisory Board. Work on the project is expected to commence in Krefeld in 2011.
 
The move involves a three-digit million euro investment at the Krefeld site, partly to upgrade equipment. The Benrath plant currently employs 534 people, who will be offered jobs in Krefeld or other acceptable solutions such as full or partial retirement. The company says there will be no compulsory redundancies.
 
The apprentice training capacities at the Benrath site will be maintained. Management and works council will continue their discussions on implementing these assurances.
 
“The consolidation of our sites is unavoidable; it is the only way to secure the viability of the Nirosta group as a whole,” explained Clemens Iller, Executive Board Chairman of ThyssenKrupp Nirosta and Chairman of the Stainless Global business area. “Significant competitive disadvantages compared with other areas of Europe, for example with regard to energy costs, mean that we have to make major cost savings if we are to continue producing stainless steel in Germany on a long-term basis.”
 
One of the reasons for the transfer of production, according to the company, is that stainless-steel customers are switching more to ferritic grades. The company plans to adapt production structures to be in line with this change in demand to better serve customers. At present, Krefeld mainly produces nickel-containing austenitic grades. Combining the two product lines at the Krefeld site will lower processing costs and allow production to be geared more quickly and flexibly to market requirements, says ThyssenKrupp Nirosta.
 
Another reason for integrating the Benrath cold rolling mill into the Krefeld plant and expanding the production of ferritic grades there is that the current setup involves complicated logistics. The company says that the traditional division of production over the four locations—Bochum (melt shop and hot rolling mill), Krefeld (melt shop and cold rolling mill), Dillenburg (cold rolling mill), and Benrath (cold rolling mill)—is outdated, causing significant cost disadvantages within the group.
 
Last year, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of ThyssenKrupp AG decided to develop the Stainless Global business area and its lead company ThyssenKrupp Nirosta independently as part of a stand-alone strategy. As part of this, numerous operating measures were initiated and implemented, including more flexible shift patterns at all plants in response to market volatility. The company says that this plan is working and that further efforts are ongoing.
 
Krefeld-based ThyssenKrupp Nirosta is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of stainless flat products with a broad range of stainless-steel grades, sizes, and finishes. The company has several sites in Germany and employs around 4200 people, including roughly 2050 in Krefeld, around 730 in Dillenburg, just under 540 in Düsseldorf-Benrath, and around 480 in Bochum.