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Info 1_2008_engl.indd u4
Edelstahl
Magazine for
Customers and
Employees
Info 1_2008_engl.indd u1
1/2008
Contents
10
l The Company
4 Evaporation cooling at electric
furnace 6
2.3 million investment in steel mill
energy-saving project
6 Continuous Improvement
programme launched
Better is best
8 15,000 for childrens projects
Donations instead of Christmas
presents
9 Africa hammer celebrates
its second birthday
Project in Togo, West Africa,
successfully under way
14
10 Classic water tower makes way
for progress
12 Aircraft, travel, and time
Bernhard Pauly retired
at the end of the year
13 Buderus Edelstahl
donates prize money
Frbel school in Wetzlar
welcomes donation
14 Tough steel images
Industrial photographers
at Buderus Edelstahl
16 Celikmetal boosts Buderus Edelstahl
activities in the Bosporus
Presence in Turkey expanded
Tough
steel images
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 2
Editorial
Dear Readers,
16
20
l Employees
27 CR & T Board Meeting
Special steel for commercial vehicles
on the agenda
27 Buderus Edelstahl becomes a member
of the Drive Technology Research
Association
28 Introducing Jennifer Schneider
Heat Treatment Supervisor
Career profiles at Buderus Edelstahl
As we look back on a
successful 2007, we wish
to thank our customers
for the confidence they
have placed in us, and
for our constructive
collaboration. We also
wish to thank our
employees, whose
commitment and dedication made it possible
to achieve this goal.
We have a full programme for 2008, and
have set ourselves further goals.
In this issue we want
to bring you some highlights from our
companys activities. These include
introducing a continuous improvement
process to replace the existing company suggestion scheme. We also
introduce two of our sales partners
Celik Metal, and Bogner and report
on various symposiums and professional development events.
One new feature in this magazine is
the series Career profiles at Buderus
Edelstahl, regularly introducing
employees in various vocations.
We also include reports on the
causes that Buderus Edelstahl has
supported over the past year.
29 Bhler-Uddeholm Management
Academy Stage 1 welcomed at
Buderus Edelstahl
30 Series of lectures on Recent developments in metal forming at the IBF
30 Long service awards
30 Deaths
l News
31 Recommended reading
Tool making in plastics processing
31 2008 dates
31 Imprint
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The Company
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 4
The Company
The company has invested in an evaporation cooling system for the exhaust gas
flow from electric arc furnace 6 in the
Buderus Edelstahl steel mill. The system
pumps pressurised water through the
exhaust gas pipe of the furnace (connected
load 57MW; oxygen gas burner 18 MW);
the water is heated up by the exhaust gas,
and some of it evaporates. The steam-water
mix is separated in the steel mill, and the
steam is stored, to be drawn off as required
by steel degassing (steam jet).
Wolfgang Wichert has headed the Buderus Edelstahl steel mill since 1 January
2008. The previous incumbent, Dr Klaus
Schfers, has left the company. Wolfgang
Wichert has 18 years experience of the
steel industry, and was previously head
of the steel mill at Lech-Stahlwerke
GmbH in Meitingen, Bavaria.
Wolfgang Wichert is 46 years old, and
comes from the Emsland district. He has
found it easy to adapt to the typical
hearty Hessian style of the local area, and
after barely three months in Wetzlar has
been able to conclude, The decision to
come to Buderus Edelstahl was the right
one. Im pleased to contribute to the success of this innovative company.
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 5
The Company
Directors Jens Mohr, Karl-Peter Johann with Continuous Improvement representatives Stefan Schmidt, Sebastian Zimmermann, Rolf Schmidt (works council), and
Manfred Becker (from left to right)
Better is best
Continuous Improvement
programme launched
Buderus Edelstahl initiated the establishment of a systematic continuous improvement process (KVP) with the help of external advisers in late 2007, which will benefit
employees and customers throughout the world. The aims are to further intensify
customer orientation, process optimisation and cross-departmental communication
on the use of resources and synergies.
The new Continuous Improvement programme replaces the previous company
suggestion scheme system, providing a
uniform structure for the whole company.
By systematically and continuously working on improvements, whilst constantly
reducing defects, the Continuous Improvement programme ensures high process orientation and process reliability. The programme provides the right tools to establish appropriate measures and implement
the results effectively. This creates greater
flexibility and enables rapid response to
changed conditions in the marketplace,
with customers and with competitors a
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 6
The Company
and his team are working together with
many other people on systematic implementation of the programme. Six Continuous Improvement teams will be formed in
the pilot phase.
Coordination for the steel mill is being
handled by Karl-Heinz Spengler, Ralf Rech
is responsible for the forge, and Sebastian
Zimmermann is coordinating the administrative sector.
The Continuous Improvement teams
report through the coordinators to the
Continuous Improvement officer, receiving
direct technical support through contacts
in the Human Resource, Controlling, Quality Assurance, Process Engineering, Technology and IT departments. The Continuous
Improvement programme is managed by a
control group made up of senior management, divisional management, departmental management, divisional management,
equal parts. Implemented ideas that cannot be measured in concrete figures are
rewarded according to a standardised
reward table, and those that cannot meaningfully be implemented in a foreseeable
timeframe receive a recognition award.
Uniform, clearly structured checklists
for recording improvement ideas are available to employees, for example in a Continuous Improvement box at the main
entrance, in the workshops, foremans
offices and secretariats, and on the intranet
For us Continuous Improvement is now
an integral component of the Buderus
Edelstahl corporate strategy, says Jens
Mohr, for which we set aside time and
resources to support and drive forward this
continuous process. The more intensively
we do this, the stronger Buderus Edelstahl
will become.
Human Resources
Controlling
Quality Planning/
Process Engineering
Engineering
IT
Kison
Grnen
Bartzsch, Vetter, Caspari
Mauritz
Veit, Daniel, Philipp
Holland
Forge coordinator
Administration coordinator
Spengler
Rech
Zimmermann
The C
Th
Continuous
ti
IImprovementt organization
i ti structure
t t
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 7
The Company
15,000 for
childrens
projects
Donations instead of
Christmas presents
In 2007 Buderus Edelstahl donated
3,000 to each of five childrens
projects, instead of sending Christmas
gifts to customers. The cheques were
handed over at the end of December in
the main administrative block at
Buderus Edelstahl.
For several years now Buderus Edelstahl has
been providing financial support to welfare
causes instead of sending Christmas presents to customers. For example a donation
went to the childrens heart centre in Giessen in 2005, and to 4 crches in Wetzlar in
2006. Several projects will all benefit in
2007. We are doing this to promote young
talent, emphasised Jens Mohr, Commercial
Director of Buderus Edelstahl, at the cheque
presentation ceremony. Together with the
Technical Director Karl-Peter Johann, he
took the opportunity to explain briefly to
the representatives of the childrens projects
what Buderus Edelstahl is about making
The new childrens kitchen in the Dandelion day nursery
Susanne Pilz, Heike Grotstollen, Petra Schnfeldt, accompanied by the children Joline Keller (left ) and
Sophie Aranega from the Dandelion nursery, Karin Knoth, Marion Kunz and Roland Esch (from left to right)
appreciate the donation from Buderus Edelstahl. The cheques were presented by Karl-Peter Johann,
Anne Kuhlmann (1st and 2nd from the left) and Jens Mohr (third from the left)
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 8
The Company
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The Company
10
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 10
The Company
Overall view (on the left) The head of the tower hangs free (centre) Wrecking the tower head (on the right)
The lower part suspended from the crane (on the left) Excavators start the demolition work (centre)
Thanks for a job well done (on the right)
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 11
The Company
by the then office supervisor, with the solemn admonition that it was the only eraser
he would be given here, and it had to last
until he retired. Because people who erase
a lot think too little beforehand, and people who think too little are no use in the
long term.
Bernhard Pauly still has his eraser. Partly
because it was he who introduced EDP into
time management, which saved more than
just pencil costs. On the basis of his achievements, he soon became Team Leader and
then Work Scheduling Manager at the
forge; in 1980 he was appointed Head of
Central Operations Scheduling. What followed was the development of a CAQ system unique at that time in the steel industry, and a PS system two highlights of
my creation is what Bernhard Pauly calls
them. In 1988 he became Head of the then
Tool Steel Sales division, and was appointed
commercial attorney.
With the construction and relocation to
the blue workshop in 1991, the growth of
12
Bernhard Pauly
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 12
The Company
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 13
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The Company
Harald Lackmann operates the horizontal boring machine during face milling
14
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 14
The Company
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The Company
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Info 1_2008_engl.indd 16
The Company
Hakan Kzltas, Sales; Recep elik, CEO; Selin Szen, Import/Export; Haer Ibisoglu, Engineering; Engin Alaz,
Sales (from left to right)
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 17
17
Tool Steel
Never before have we had so many communication options as now: telephone, fax,
e-mail the possibilities of rapid information exchange are now almost unlimited.
The disadvantage is that people seldom meet face to face.
Meeting face to face this was also the
theme of the fourth meeting of the international sales partners of Buderus Edelstahl
Steel Bar division, held from 28 30 June
2007 in the Hotel Lahnschleife in the beautiful baroque royal seat of Weilburg. The
meetings held in 1996, 2000 and 2004 have
already created many valuable personal
contacts.
44 guests from 18 countries and three
continents responded to the invitation by
Buderus Edelstahl, and some of them travelled great distances to take part in this
grand family reunion. They were greeted
by Jens Mohr, the Commercial Director of
Buderus Edelstahl GmbH and by Bernhard
Pauly in his then function of General Manager Steel Bar Sales.
On the evening they arrived, the guests
took the opportunity of the champagne
18
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 18
Tool Steel
on tribology in moulds for plastic production.
There was then a lively discussion touching on the ongoing investments and associated increase in capacity. Another subject
was the development of groundbreaking
tool steels, especially in view of the constantly increasing cost of raw materials and
energy. Everyone agreed that the established high quality standard of Buderus
ISO-B steels should be maintained. Other
questions related to focussed technical
first aid. Peter Vetter put forward the view
that competent support and solutions
developed jointly with the customer that
were of practical relevance would serve to
foster further positive relations. For example when there were signs of wear, the
service life of the die, die casting and plastics processing tools could be significantly
increased by judicious selection of modern
surface finishing measures.
In order to entertain accompanying
partners, Buderus Edelstahl arranged a trip
to Marburg with a tour of the old town,
and a convivial lunch together.
Jens Mohr and Bernhard Pauly greeted
three guests of honour to the official dinner on the evening of the second day the
Mayor of the town of Weilburg, Hans-Peter
Schick, the Chairman of the Weilburg Castle Concert Association, Dr Manfred Langner, and the previous incumbent Gerhard
Wrz. The high point of the evening was
the visit to the Weilburg castle concerts, of
which Buderus Edelstahl GmbH has been
one of the sponsors for several years. The
rain that fell on the way from the Hotel
Line up for the group photo was the call after the works tour at Buderus Edelstahl
Samba dancer
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 19
19
20
The Bogner Wels location has been the central stockholding facility for Austria and Eastern Europe
for more than 30 years
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 20
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 21
21
Engineering Steel
Polarputki Oy Product Manager Sari Kokkonen, Quality Manager Karri Kanervo, and
Key Account Manager Tuija Salomki were
evidently impressed by the large amount of
information and insights they gained into
steel bar production and Buderus Edelstahl.
We now have a better understanding of
the Buderus Edelstahl materials and
processing stages, says Sari Kokkonen.
All this will strengthen our position in selling Buderus Edelstahl products to our customers.
The trainee programme further strengthened the cooperation between Polarputki
Oy and Buderus Edelstahl, which have been
working together 26 years. What started
22
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 22
Engineering Steel
ment Manager at Buderus Edelstahl. For
us it is important that our partners can
identify fully with Buderus Edelstahl special steels on the world market. As one of
Europes market leaders in the field of large
scale gear building, it is our philosophy not
just to sell steel but to develop entire concepts starting with melting and going
through production, sales and delivery by
our partner companies, through to supporting our end customers.
Large scale gear steel has a special
position
With comprehensive training and information, it is possible to create ideal winwin situations with partner companies,
emphasises Bjrn Rech who places special
importance on developing steel for largescale gears within the positive overall
development of the steel market. As well
as the increasing general need for industrial and railway gears and the requirement for new container ships with associated gear systems due to the growing global freight levels, another decisive factor
is the widespread installation of wind turbines that are overwhelmingly equipped
with large-scale gear units. Steady
growth is to be anticipated over coming
years, believes Rech.
To serve this growth as well as possible,
partner companies like Polarputki Oy
receive from Buderus Edelstahl thorough
product and production training in all matters relating to special steel as a material.
The three-day trainee programme also provided an opportunity for the Finnish managers to reinforce personal contacts, as well
as just gaining information. In addition to
visiting the steel mill and the forge, which
were undoubtedly some of the highlights
for our guests, says Bjrn Rech, there was
also an accompanying programme with a
tour of the old town, shopping and a bowling evening with employees from Sales and
Engineering.
Group photograph with trainees: Bjrn Rech (Department Manager), Diana Spaja, Diana Schmidt, Tuija
Salomki (Key Account Manager Polarputki Oy), Karri Kanervo (Quality Manager Polarputki Oy), Sari Kokkonen
(Product Manager Polarputki Oy), Sandra Reinders, Michaela Neuhaus, Christopher Bott, Reiner Fritsch (from
left to right)
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 23
23
Engineering Steel
Fifth international
gear steel
symposium in
Wetzlar civic hall
120 material and heat treatment experts
made their way to the fifth international
gear steel symposium in Wetzlar civic hall
from 10 11 May 2007. The symposium was
again organized by ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH located in Hanau, and Buderus
Edelstahl GmbH. The fifth symposium again
focused on materials and heat treatment,
emphasising the issues of material and
process developments and changing
dimensions and shapes. One innovation of
the symposium that originated in 1987 at a
meeting of the Drive Technology Research
Association in Wetzlar, was a guest presentation on cutting tools. Technical Director
Karl-Peter Johann greeted the guests, some
of whom had travelled from afar, and gave
a short presentation on trends in the steel
market and developments at Buderus Edelstahl GmbH and its fellow subsidiaries at
the Wetzlar location. The companys active
investment programme to increase capacity and the clear commitment that the
forged engineering-steel sector was one of
the pillars of the companys approach, was
received positively. Dr Reinhard Walter,
Chairman of the Management Board, welcomed the guests as the representative of
24
Kai Chittka, Martin Schulze, Dr Volker Heuer, Karl-Peter Johann, Dr Frank Hippenstiel, Karl Ritter,
Dr Klaus Lser (from left to right)
ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH. He outlined developments at ALD Vacuum Technologies, and briefly presented the business
highlights since the last gear steel symposium.
The first technical contribution was by
Kai Chittka from the Quality and Process
Engineering department at Buderus Edelstahl GmbH. He reported on the production of case hardening steels, tempering
steels and roller bearing steels for greater
process reliability in treatment and machining. He described fundamental production
processes that ensure that these modern
special steel products constitute reliable
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 24
Engineering Steel
Karl-Peter Johann (on the right) answers questions during the works tour
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 25
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Tool Steel
In December 2007, the Buderus Edelstahl GmbH Sales and Quality team
again showed what a well oiled team
they are. Customers and business partners meet Buderus Edelstahl every year
at the world trade fair for tool and
mould making, design and product
development, to talk together in a
pleasant atmosphere and plan joint
projects.
One subject at the meetings and also a
highlight of the company presence around
the Buderus Edelstahl tower, which made
the distinctive exhibition stand really visible
to visitors, was the new subsidiary Buderus
Edelstahl Zerspanungstechnik GmbH, which
has been part of the corporate family since
1 May 2007. This takeover has further expanded the service capability of Buderus
Edelstahl. Customers and visitors were fascinated by the extensive machine pool that
Zerspanungstechnik has to offer, securing
optimum preparation for mould-making in
future.
Good luck hammers from Togo
Another highlight was the hammers forged
in Togo that arrived punctually in time for
26
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 26
Employees
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27
Employees
Jennifer Schneider
Supervisor in the heat treatment shop
She is 22 years old, and has been a Day Shift Supervisor in the heat treatment shop
at Buderus Edelstahl for a year. Although she is still young, Jennifer Schneider is
really an old hand in the Wetzlar production workshops. She came to the company on
work experience at the age of 15, and at 16 she started her training as a Materials
Inspector.
28
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 28
Employees
She successfully completed her training. She then worked in various production sections, completed an ultrasound
course, and in December 2006 became a
Day Shift Supervisor in the heat treatment
shop. A total of 64 employees work in the
heat treatment shop and the continuous
flow plant, which together form one
department; Jennifer Schneider works
with a team of five on the day shift, all
men aged between 21 and 64. I have
learnt to assert myself, she says with a
smile. She was the only girl on her training course as well.
That is changing too. More girls have
started training at Buderus Edelstahl in
recent years, says General Foreman Dieter Wamuth, Ms. Schneiders boss. He
approves, and she has proved that a
woman can do the job as well as a man.
A woman in the team improves the climate and morale, he admits with a laugh.
The style becomes gentler, which the
whole team benefits from. So Dieter
Wamuth was pleased to comply when
the General Manager Ralf Rech proposed
Jennifer Schneider for the job a year
ago.
Responsible task
When the forge has presented the various
heat treatment sequences it requires for
the day, Ms. Schneider starts her round,
checks and documents the temperatures of
the furnaces, discusses things with her
team, and stipulates when and how the
next work steps are to proceed. A responsible job. It is precise heat treatment that
makes steel a high-quality product, enabling it to acquire the critical factors
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 29
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Employees
Series of talks on
New developments in metal
forming at the IBF
In the course of the series of talks Recent
developments in metal forming in the
winter semester 2007/08 at the Aachen
University of Technology, Dr Frank Hippen-
stiel of Buderus Edelstahl Quality Assurance, and Ralf Rech, General Manager
Forging, presented papers at the Institute
of Metal Forming (IBF). The paper entitled
Long service
awards
Deaths
Mayer, Otto
31. 8. 2007
Schupp, Erich
14. 9. 2007
Apel, Karl
2. 10. 2007
Greilich, Erich
4. 10. 2007
Strauch, Walter
3. 11. 2007
Claudy, Manfred
3. 12. 2007
Maxheim, Magdalena 9. 12. 2007
Neeb, Wilhelm
14. 12. 2007
Abendroth, Jrgen 14. 12. 2007
Manzano Alvarez,
Joaquin
4. 1. 2008
Roos, Wanda
5. 1. 2008
30
Alter
82
79
72
91
80
68
85
95
59
77
83
Valentin, Kurt
Martin, Helmut
Wieth, Armin
Treffenstdt, Erich
Schulz, Richard
Califano, Antonio
Mer, Richard
Hoffrichter, Gnter
Bernhardt, Willy
Weber, Paul
Ohm, Gerhard
Sommert, Antonio
Drr, Alfred
12. 1. 2008
10. 2. 2008
13. 2. 2008
17. 2. 2008
18. 2. 2008
27. 2. 2008
27. 2. 2008
1. 3. 2008
5. 3. 2008
7. 3. 2008
16. 3. 2008
21. 3. 2008
26. 3. 2008
73
82
50
86
80
67
81
80
84
85
77
76
78
40 years service
Wagner, Heinz
31. 1. 2008
10 years service
Bart, Waldemar
Giese, Jens
Klauer, Andreas
Koch, Jrg
Bchner, Nicole
Hamann, Viktor
Kubocz, Andreas
Aschenbach, Alexander
Geisse, Norman
Friedrich, Rene
1. 12. 2007
2. 2. 2008
2. 2. 2008
23. 2. 2008
2. 3. 2008
2. 3. 2008
2. 3. 2008
2. 3. 2008
9. 3. 2008
9. 3. 2008
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 30
News
Recommended reading
Toolmaking in plastics
processing
The 5th edition of the standard work Toolmaking in plastics processing, thoroughly
revised, appeared punctually for Euromold 2007. Two of the authors come from
Buderus Edelstahl, Quality Assurance Manager Dr Frank Hippenstiel, and Tool Steel
Quality Planning Manager Peter Vetter.
G. Mennig
Toolmaking in plastics processing
Carl Hanser Verlag, 2007
ISBN 978-3-446-40778-7
730 pages. 46 colour and 702
b/w. illustrations
29 [D]
EuroMold 2008
Editorial information
Publisher:
Buderus Edelstahl GmbH
Editors address:
Buderus Edelstahl GmbH
Buderusstrae 25, 35576 Wetzlar
Tel. (0 64 41) 3 74-0
Fax (0 64 41) 3 74-28 82
Editor:
Jens Mohr (responsible for the content)
Texts: Tobias Besser, Dr Hubert Bruntrger,
Veronika Franz, Dr Frank Hippenstiel, Anne
Kuhlmann, Sigrid Krekel, Peter Vetter
Photo acknowledgements/sources:
p. 8 top: Wetzlardruck, bottom: Dandelion day
nursery; p. 16 top: fotolia; p. 4, p. 14, p. 15 top
left and bottom left: Uwe Niggemeier; p. 15 top
right and bottom right: Mike Schultz; p. 22/23:
Polarputki.
Buderus Edelstahl GmbH holds the rights
for photos, plans and diagrams, unless otherwise
indicated.
Overall production:
Composition, design and lithography: Die Feder,
Konzeption vor dem Druck GmbH, Wetzlar
Printing: Druckhaus Bechstein GmbH, Wetzlar
Print run:
German 5,000, English 3,000 copies
Printed in Germany 1/2008
2008 Buderus Edelstahl GmbH
Info 1_2008_engl.indd 31
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