Salzgitter Mannesmann Stahlservice expands delivery scope

to customers for tight tolerance steel strip from hot rolled wide strip production in Salzgitter

In recent years, the two Salzgitter Mannesmann Stahlservice GmbH (SMS) plants in Schwerte and Karlsruhe have clearly set their sights on the requirements of quality-oriented customers and have consequently often become a preferred supplier to these customers.

Within the variety of products and processing expected from the "Salzgitter" brand, the dimensional structures manufactured from hot rolled wide strip are also playing a major role. For example, around 250,000 metric tons of products made of hot-rolled input stock are sold annually in the two SMS locations.

Moreover, in order to cater with the trend towards product refinement, the two Stahl Service centers have particularly established themselves with customers who have narrowly defined demands for material thicknesses and grades. Consequently, the hot rolled wide strip line in Salzgitter with its excellent capabilities and options for thickness tolerance is an ideal input stock basis.

For example, SMS has also set up continuous delivery flows to the manufacturers of components in the power train, safety equipment and restraint systems areas within the countless application areas for steel strip. As a rule, this involves narrow component tolerances and strict demands on maintaining narrow fluctuation margins with regard to the mechanical and chemical work steps, while at the same time designers must limit subordinate processes and work steps as far as possible in order to keep costs down.

This applies to the thermo-mechanically rolled, microalloyed steels from Salzgitter, where the designers, particularly in the case of safety parts, must now increasingly focus on bainitic steels such as SZBS800 or on grades from the family of multiphase steels due to the demands for rigidity and strength.

Consequently, it is not surprising that due to the multitude of components and parts - also in all other grades and product areas - the SMS services are playing a significant role in the distribution chain. And this means not only from the material testing and first article through to series delivery, but also in the broad setting of performance characteristics in logistics, quality assurance and technical support combined with the SZFG and SZMF customer advisory service that are a part of the customer relationship.

Drawing on the strengths of the two SSC locations, Salzgitter is well positioned in this respect and offers its customers extensive services along the entire value chain.