up to 900mm thick and 80 tons heavy is still produced at the old Marrel Frères site in Chateauneuf, France.
The steel mill was founded in 1867 by the Marrel brothers.
Main product were flat irons and armoured plates.
In 1932 a unique combined heavy plate rolling and forging mill was installed that is still in use today.
In 1974 Marrel Frères became part of the Creusot Loire group and eight years later the production of long rolled products was transfered to St. Etienne and after the bancruptcy of Creusot Loire the mill became part of USINOR.
In the following years the company changed it’s name frequently (Creusot Loire Industrie, CLI Fafer, Usinor Industeel). Today the site is part of Industeel producing the largest heavy plate in Europe.
Acieries et Laminoirs de Rives
The rolling mill in Rives s.Fur at the rim of the Isere valley in France was founded in 1912.
It runs two section rolling mill and produces bars and sections.
Images now at my website.
Narrow Strip Mill
After more than 10 years I visited my hometown’s unique narrow strip mill again.
Images now at Stahlseite.
The rolling mill in Hohenlimburg, now part of the city of Hagen/Germany, was founded in 1846 and goes back to the old Böing forge, a descendant of this family later founded the Boing aircraft company in Seattle, USA.
The mill produced wire and later hot strip.
In 1907 the site was taken over by the Hoesch steel company from Dortmund.
In the 20th century numerous cold rolling , wire drawing and steel spring manufacturers were taken over.
In 1955 the new narrow strip mill started it’s production.The Hohenlimburg site was fusioned with Schwerter Profileisenwalzwerke AG in 1969. This rolling mill was sold to the Italian Calvi group in 2005.
The Hohenlimburg plant is now part of ThyssenKrupp Steel.
KD Foundry
The KD foundry is a successor of Králodvorské Zelezárny the last integrated steel mill in Bohemia which ceased production in 1987.
The foundry is specialized in rollers for the steel industry and runs 3 induction furnaces.
Images here.
Casting-Rolling Mill
The unique casting rolling unit at ThyssenKrupp’s integrated steel mill in Duisburg, Germany produces strip up to 1,6 m wide with a combined caster and a 7-stand finishing mill in one heat.
The facilities were installed in 1999.
Images now at Stahlseite.
Thin Plate Mill
The rolling mill in Clabecq, Belgium goes back to the old Forges de Clabecq, founded in 1850.
After the closure of it’s blast furnaces and steel production in 2002 the site was taken over by NLMK from Russia in 2006.
The unique thin plate mill includes a quarto roughing stand and four continuous finishing stands and was built in 1971.
Photos now at my website.
Georgsmarienhütte, Revisited
The steel mill in Georgsmarienhütte, Germany was founded on local iron ore deposits in 1856.
The first blast furnace was installed in 1858.
In 1885 the plant merged with the nearby steel mill in Osnabrück.
An open hearth shop was built in 1904.
In 1923 the site became part of the Klöckner-Werke AG.
A third blast furnace and a second open hearth shop went into production in 1952.
The bar rolling mill number 6 was comissioned in 1965.
In 1982 a coal based (KS-) converter replaced the last open hearth furnaces.
The Osnabrück site was closed in 1987.
In 1994 the last blast furnace (no. 3) was clsed down and a new 130 ton DC-electric arc furnace replaced the KS-converter.
Further images.
DMKD, Ukraine
The steel plant in Dneprodzerzhinsk was founded in 1887 on the banks of Ukraine’s largest river the
Dnepr supplied with coal from the Donezk bassin and iron ore from Krivoy Rog. The mill was nationalized in 1917 and named after Feliks Dzierżyński (Revolutionary and founder of the Sowjet secret police) in 1925.
Today the plant is privatized and runs four blast furnaces (No. 1/8/9/12) a BOF shop including two 250 ton top blown vessels. Two continuous casters and several rolling mills for railroad axles, rails, billets, tube blanks, medium sections and sheet pile.
Images now at Stahlseite.
Wheels Of Steel
The rolling mill in Königswinter, Germany was built in 1957 by the Lemmerz Werke GmbH
producing wide flats for car wheels.
In 1997 Lemmerz merged with the U.S. based Hayes Wheels International company to form Hayes Lemmerz.
In 2010 the rolling mill was outsourced and proceeded under the new name “Warmwalzwerk Königswinter”.
Images here.
Steel Foundry
The steel foundry in Wetterzeube, Germany was founded in 1909 named „Stahlwerk Staeglich und Haberkorn Wetterzeube“. The foundry operated a cupola furnace and two crucible furnaces. These were replaced by an open hearth melt shop in 1921.
After the war the Wetterzeube works were nationalized and became part of the “VEB Stahlgiesserei Elstertal Silbitz” foundry combine in 1955.
In 1985 a 5 ton electric arc furnace, built in the 1950ies and relocated from Bösdorf near Leipzig, was installed.
After the privatization the Wetterzeube foundry became part of the GEW Gestaguss group from Velbert, Germany.
Images now at Stahlseite.