voestalpine’s new special steel plant begins testing

July 6, 2022

The new plant at voestalpine is expected to produce 205,000 tons of special steel annually (Courtesy voestalpine)
The new plant at Kapfenberg (Courtesy voestalpine)

Four years after its groundbreaking ceremony, the special steel plant at voestalpine’s site in Kapfenberg, Austria, is now complete. The facility – intended to annually produce 205,000 tons of special steel, some of which will be metal powder for AM – is said to represent a technical milestone for the voestalpine Group’s High Performance Metals Division in terms of digitalisation and sustainability.

The plant replaces the existing voestalpine Böhler Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG plant in Kapfenberg, and is in addition to its traditional steel products, will produce metal powders for Additive Manufacturing. The first facilities are already undergoing testing.

The project progressed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, although delays in the delivery of key equipment led to project completion being pushed back by over a year. At the same time, voestalpine calculates that due to the difficult framework conditions, costs are expected to rise by around 10% to 20% over the initial planned investment of €350 million.

“As the plant starts operating in fall 2022, initially with intermittent parallel operations using the existing electric steel mill, we can supply our customers with even better material qualities to further expand our global market leadership in tool and special steels,” stated Franz Rotter, member of the Management Board of voestalpine AG and Head of the High Performance Metals Division. “Our heartfelt thanks go to our dedicated employees at the site whose flexibility and extensive expertise will make this successful start-up possible.”

“The new special steel plant will set new global benchmarks in sustainability and energy efficiency,” added Rotter. “This makes this investment an integral part of our overall sustainability strategy.”

www.voestalpine.com

In the latest issue of PM Review…

Download PDF

Extensive Powder Metallurgy industry news coverage, and the following exclusive deep-dive articles and reports:

  • From powder modification to rejuvenation: Fluidised Bed Reactors in metal powder production and Additive Manufacturing
  • Retech: Enabling the atomisation of reactive and refractory alloys at substantially higher levels of productivity and lower cost
  • Sustainability in Powder Metallurgy: Highlights from the 41st Hagen Symposium
  • Innovations from Japan’s Powder Metallurgy industry: award winners highlight novel automotive and healthcare applications

The latest news from the world of metal powders, delivered to your inbox

Don't miss any new issue of PM Review, and get the latest industry news. Sign up to our weekly newsletter.

Sign up

Join our community

Discover our magazine archive…

The free-to-access PM Review magazine archive offers unparalleled insight into the world of Powder Metallurgy from a commercial and technological perspective through:

  • Reports on visits to leading PM part manufacturers, metal powder manufacturers and industry suppliers
  • Articles on technology and application trends
  • Information on materials developments
  • Reviews of key technical presentations from the international conference circuit
  • International industry news

All past issues are available to download as free PDFs or view in your browser.

 

Browse the archive

 

Looking for PM production equipment, metal powders, R&D support and more?

Discover suppliers of these and more in our
advertisers’ index and buyer’s guide, available in the back of PM Review magazine.

  • Powders & materials
  • Powder process, classification & analysis
  • PM products
  • Atomisers & powder production technology
  • Compaction presses, tooling & ancillaries
  • Sintering equipment & ancillaries
  • Post-processing
  • Consulting & toll sintering
View online
Share via
Copy link