Tailored to production requirements and local conditions, and equipped with state-of-the-art process data acquisition systems, our processing plant and equipment ensure high productivity and production reliability. Our integrated manufacturing chain means all the major production steps are in our own hands – a vital prerequisite for a robust and stable manufacturing process. This enables us to guarantee maximum purity, homogeneity, reproducibility and optimum further processing of our products. Our investments create the basis for growth by assuring the manufacture of top quality products and boosting delivery reliability for our customers.
The ongoing optimization process in place across the value chain is geared in the long term to achieving the lowest possible production costs, thus guaranteeing our customers the highest possible cost-effectiveness.
Outokumpu VDM's melting shop is situated at the Unna location. It is optimally equipped for the melting and ladle treatment of high-nickel alloys, high-alloy special stainless steels and copper-nickel alloys. The materials are melted in an electric-arc furnace and then subjected to vacuum treatment. A ladle furnace is available for secondary metallurgical treatment. Casting takes place in a vertical continuous caster or by ingot casting. The homogeneity and purity of the materials can be enhanced by electroslag (ESR) or vacuum arc remelting (VAR). The cast and/or remelted slabs and ingots serve Outokumpu VDM as starting material for the production of sheet, strip, bar and wire.
In addition to the conventional technology of open-hearth steel melting, Outokumpu VDM also uses a latest generation vacuum induction melting (VIM) furnace at the Unna site for the production of high-alloy special stainless steels, nickel alloys and superalloys. These can withstand extreme mechanical and thermal stresses, which makes them suitable for the most demanding applications in the aerospace, energy, oil and gas industries, as well as for special uses in electrical and electronic engineering.
Sheets and plates in thicknesses of 2 to 100 mm are hot-rolled on a four-high mill at ThyssenKrupp VDM's Siegen location. Finishing steps such as annealing, shot blasting, pickling, grinding and cutting take place at the Altena processing plant. Here, we also have a Sendzimir reversing mill that can process hot-rolled sheet to individual cold-rolled sheets in widths of up to 2,500 mm. At the Werdohl processing plant, strip is cold rolled on four-high and Sendzimir mills. Foil can be rolled down to a thickness of 0.025 mm on a special 20-high mill. Annealing, levelling and cutting equipment is available for finishing operations to meet customer specifications.
At the Unna processing plant, one of the most advanced forging lines for high-performance alloys went into operation in 2008. The forging press uses two manipulators and receives its feedstock from certified heating and reheating furnaces. Following precisely specified procedures, it produces bars, billets and other semi-finished products for the exacting requirements of the aerospace, chemical, offshore and marine industries.
The finishing line at the Altena processing plant also processes hot-rolled and forged bars and semi-finished products in its heat treatment furnaces, lathes, and peeling and grinding machines. A 60-tonne drawing bench is available for the manufacture of cold-drawn precision bars.
The Werdohl processing plant also produces wire in fine and ultra-fine gauges down to a diameter of 0.01 mm, heavy-gauge and section wire as well as welding filler wire.
