High-tech steel from Dortmund: thyssenkrupp Steel completes hot-dip galvanizing line. Line inaugurated in the presence of Minister President Wüst

• Premium surfaces and corrosion protection through hot-dip galvanizing.
• High-tech steels for interior parts and outer skin applications of vehicles.
• Capacity of 600,000 metric tons of flat steel per year.
• Investment of over a quarter of a billion euros.
• Over 100 new jobs at the site.

The new hot-dip galvanizing line at thyssenkrupp Steel’s Dortmund location, FBA 10, has been completed. The line was inaugurated today in the presence of NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst. With now two modern hot-dip galvanizing lines and a total capacity of around one million metric tons per year, Dortmund will become the European center for high-quality hot-dip galvanized steel products. In the next few weeks, the FBA 10 line will go into technical ramp-up.

Investment in future markets

Bernhard Osburg, Chairman of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Steel: "With the new state-of-the-art hot-dip galvanizing line, we are serving the continuing trend among our customers toward hot-dip galvanized steels, especially in the automotive industry, but also in the home appliance industry. The FBA 10 line will enable us to differentiate ourselves even more decisively from the competition through the quality of our products. With the completion of this major investment, we have implemented another key project in our strategy for the future. We are thus strengthening the Dortmund location – at which over 1,300 people are already employed – and creating over 100 new, qualified jobs. It is also a signal of reliability and continuity in troubled times."

Minister President Hendrik Wüst: "The steel industry is a key sector in our state, with an important role in meeting the challenges of the transformation to climate neutrality and creating secure and good jobs. thyssenkrupp Steel Europe is providing impressive proof of this with its new hot-dip galvanizing line. This investment in the future is also a mark of confidence in the location, the employees and the steel industry in North Rhine-Westphalia. Together, we have every opportunity to reconcile climate protection and industry with their good jobs and make North Rhine-Westphalia the first climate-neutral industrial region in Europe," explained Wüst. "Especially in times of the energy crisis, it is a matter of ensuring economic and social stability in our state. It is essential that we scale back the dependence on Russian gas as quickly as possible, establish the right framework conditions and work closely with the companies in the upcoming transformation processes."

Continued trend toward hot-dip galvanized materials

Hot-dip galvanized products continue to gain in importance. This is because the surface treatment of the steel with zinc ensures high corrosion protection and thus the longevity of the installed parts in vehicles, as well as other everyday appliances. With the new line, thyssenkrupp Steel can produce top-quality surfaces for vehicles, for example, and also offer the highly innovative zinc-magnesium products, which thanks to their low application thickness save both materials and costs, as well as being sustainable. Overall, thyssenkrupp is further strengthening its portfolio of stronger and thinner premium steels with FBA 10.

Dortmund: competence center for hot-dip galvanizing and surface technologies

With the investment of over a quarter of a billion euros, Dortmund is consolidating its position as a center for high-quality surface technologies. Together with FBA 8, which is in operation just a few meters away from and adjacent to the new FBA 10, around one million metric tons of hot-dip galvanized products will roll off the two state-of-the-art lines in the future.

Mayor Thomas Westphal: "The Westfalenhütte is the home of steel finishing at the highest technological level. The new hot-dip galvanizing line fits in with Dortmund’s development into a technology-oriented metropolis. This center of excellence not only provides 100 new, highly qualified jobs, but also produces high-quality coatings in the best traditions of Dortmund steel, which are in demand throughout Europe. Without industry, our prosperity cannot be sustained. German energy policy must therefore ensure that such companies can continue to produce for decades to come."

District President Heinrich Böckelühr: "For the Arnsberg district government, it was a special task to be able to carry out the necessary procedures very quickly and successfully, first for an early start to construction and then for final approval in 2019. This was only possible with a special commitment of time and personnel as well as the excellent cooperation with the project team. I am pleased that this has enabled the rapid implementation of this ‚high-tech investment in the future‘ in the largest city in the Arnsberg administrative district."

Facts and figures:

The finished line has a length of about 350 meters and measures about 65 meters at the highest point. Among other things, 8,000 metric tons of steel and 24,000 cubic meters of concrete were used. The work included 180 foundation piles with a diameter of about 1.5 meters that extend as much as eleven meters deep into the ground. The line will produce around 600,000 metric tons of hot-dip galvanized steel per year. A wide range of grades will be produced in almost all strength classes for outer panels and structural components, as well as selected industrial products.