Voestalpine — BrandWiki

Voestalpine

Overview

Voestalpine AG

type	Public
traded as	wbag: VOE
foundation	January 1, 1938
industry	Steel-based technology Capital goods
location	Linz, Austria
key people	Herbert Eibensteiner (CEO) Wolfgang Eder (Chairman)
products	Tool steel plates, pipes and wires, steel automotive components
revenue	€14,9 billion (2021/2022)‡R1R‡
operating income	€229.1 million (2021/2022)‡R1R‡
net income	€31.7 million (2020/2021)‡R2R‡
assets	€14.9 billion (2020/2021)‡R3R‡
equity	€5.65 billion (2020/2021)
num employees	48,654 (June 2021)‡R4R‡
homepage	www.voestalpine.com
subsid	Böhler-Uddeholm

Voestalpine AG – stylized as voestalpine – is an Austrian steel-based technology and capital goods group based in Linz, Austria. The company is active in steel, automotive, railway systems, profilform and tool steel industries. As of 2017, it is one of the few profitable steel companies in Europe.[5]

45 percent of its workforce is based in Austria.[3] The Linz hot strip mill is a "fully integrated steel works" operated by voestalpine Stahl GmbH, a part of the steel division of voestalpine AG.[6] In addition to Linz the most important plants are in Leoben in Styria and in Krems in Lower Austria. It had a large plant at Liezen in Styria which closed in the 1990s.[7] Voestalpine is responsible for 10% of all Austrian CO2 emissions, which makes it the biggest emitter in the country.

History

Alpine Montan (1881–1945)

The Alpine Montangesellschaft (English: Alpine Mining Society) was founded in Vienna on 19 July 1881, as a vehicle of consolidating Austrian iron and steel assets. Some of these assets were later depleted, abandoned or sold. The core assets that remained concentrated in Styria: the iron ore pits in Erzberg and a steel mill in Donawitz. The company also owned smaller businesses and railroads in the Mur River valley and in Lower Austria (Krems and Schwechat). Alpine, chaired by Karl Wittgenstein, peaked in 1912, when it owned four coal mines, two iron ore mines and six metallurgical plants.

In 1922, fifty-six percent of Alpine Montangesellschaft, then owned by Fiat (see Camillo Castiglioni), was purchased by Hugo Stinnes for the German giant Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG (VS).[10] After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, the Nazi leadership and the German steel barons clashed in a conflict over the rate of economic growth: the Nazis demanded rapid buildup of industrial capacity while the big business feared overproduction and preferred to keep status quo.[11] In the first half of 1937 the Nazi leadership openly broke with the steel barons and settled for state control over iron and steel production.[12] In the same year Hermann Göring expressed his desire to control Austrian iron reserves at Erzberg.[13] After the Anschluss state-owned Reichswerke Hermann Göring purchased a 13% share in Alpine, and for the next six months wrestled with the VS over control of the company.[14] In March 1939, the VS stepped aside and the Reichswerke acquired 70% share of Alpine[15] in exchange for a 10% share in the new plant in Linz.[16] In June 1939, its name was changed to Alpine Montan AG Hermann Göring.[15] The Reichswerke continued acquisitions and outright confiscations, and soon controlled around half of Austrian heavy industries.[17] In 1944, the peak year for Alpine, its sales reached, 16% of the whole mining and steel sales of the Reichswerke.[18]

Construction of Reichswerke in Linz (1938)

The Reichswerke announced its plans for a new steel mill in Linz before the takeover of Alpine, as an incentive for VS to extract more ore at Erzberg.[10] Linz had a special place in Nazi system, and the steel project received full financial commitment of the state.[13] On 13 May 1938, the ground breaking ceremony for the Hermann Göring Werke in Linz was held.[19] Paul Pleiger was appointed chief of the Reichswerke in Linz for his services to the Nazis during the Anschluss.[20] The synergy of steel works in Linz and ore reserves at Erzberg, vertically integrated into the Reichswerke, made it virtually independent of the steel elite of the Ruhr.[15] The works in Linz were viewed as a hub of a future steel conglomerate spanning over the whole Central Europe.[21]

Reconstruction (1945–1955)

During 1945, Allied-occupied Austria was partitioned into four occupation zones; the heavy industries of the former Reichswerke concentrated in the American (Linz) and British (Erzberg) zones. The future of Linz was debated in 1945–1946. Local government of Styria and the British objected to reconstruction of Linz works, calling it the white elephant, too far from coal and ore reserves, and too large to be economical.[25] The American authorities at first concurred and suggested to reduce the Linz works to eight coke ovens under Alpine-Mountain management, dismantle the furnaces and use the parts for the needed repairs in Donawitz (Styria).[26] The Soviets voted to dismantle Linz altogether.[26]

The Austrian national government carefully persuaded the Americans to save Linz.[27] In the summer of 1946, when allied negotiations on Linz reached a stalemate, the Americans decided to restore Linz unilaterally, regardless of British or Soviet opinion.[28]

Post war, development of Linz-Donawitz process (1948–1990)

In the summer of 1948, VÖEST, ÖAMG and Swiss Roll AG agreed to co-develop the basic oxygen steelmaking process proposed by Robert Durrer (itself a development of Henry Bessemer's 1858 patent).[34] By June 1949, VÖEST developed an adaptation of Durrer's process, the LD (Linz-Donawitz) process,[33][35] (German: LD Verfahren; U.S. names: Oxygen Converter Process, Basic Oxygen Furnace Process, BOP, OSM).[36] In December 1949, the VÖEST and the ÖAMG committed to building their first 30-ton oxygen converters.[35] They were put into operation in November 1952 and May 1953[35]

Private corporation (1990–2001)

In 1990, Österreichische Industrieholding AG (Austrian Industry Holding AG) became Austrian Industries AG as it took the first steps toward privatisation.[39] In 1993, three companies formed from Austrian Industries AG--Voest-Alpine Technologie AG, and Voest-Alpine Stahl AG, and Böhler-Uddeholm.[40] Privatisation began in 1995, when Voest-Alpine got listed on Vienna Stock Exchange.[41] and the government sold its last shares of the company in 2003.[42] Voest-Alpine Stahl owned 21.25 of Voest-Alpine Technologie, which was the parent company of the former Voest-Alpine plant-building unit Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau, split from the larger company in 1956.

During 2001, Voestalpine bought Polynorm, a Bunschoten, Netherlands manufacturer of auto parts, in exchange for $118 million.[43]

voestalpine AG (2001–present)

In 2001, the name of Voest-Alpine Stahl Group changed to voestalpine AG[41] in order to fit the standard naming pattern of Austrian public corporations.

During 2006, Voestalpine decided to dispose of its steel trading group. Voestalpine Stahlhandel is now Cognor Stahlhandel, still based in Linz and part of the Cognor Group, a division of Zlomrex S.A. Capital Group.[50]

In April 2007, voestalpine made a bid for 20.95 percent of the Austrian tool steel producer Böhler-Uddeholm,[51] which was created in 1991 from the merger of Böhler Group and Swedish Uddeholm Group, the latter acquired by Voest-Alpine Stahl AG in 1990.[39] The combined company was one of three created from Austrian Industries AG in 1993.[40]

North American operations

During 1990, Voest-Alpine Eisenbahnsysteme and Nortrak Railway Supply Ltd. of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada formed a joint venture called VAE Nortrak North America, Inc., which later added operations in the United States.

The Birmingham, Alabama plant opened in 1992, followed by the Cheyenne, Wyoming plant in 1997,[63] now the company's headquarters.[64]

As a result of two 2004 acquisitions, Nortrak has other U.S. facilities in Pueblo, Colorado; Newton, Kansas and Chicago Heights, Illinois; and Seattle, Washington.[63]

Roll Forming Corp., incorporated in 1947[65] and headquartered in Shelbyville, Kentucky, is the roll forming division of voestalpine AG. The company has supplied parts for the aerospace industry since 1949 and for Boeing airplanes since 1969. It also supplies NASA and McDonnell Douglas. Products also include model train tracks and gymnasium bleachers. At first the company made aluminum parts for airplane structures, but in the late 1980s, Roll Forming added preparing parts for assembly. The company still uses this process for Spirit AeroSystems, which puts together stringers for many of Boeing's larger planes.[66] Other locations for Roll Forming are Jeffersonville, Indiana and Farrell, Pennsylvania.[67] Roll Forming agreed to the purchase by Voest-Alpine Krems in 2000, giving the Voest-Alpine Stahl AG subsidiary its first manufacturing facilities in the United States.[68]

In the 2010s, the company made a $740 million investment in a HBI plant outside Corpus Christi, Texas. Groundbreaking took place in April 2014 and production activity commenced on 28 September 2016.[69][70] During 2022, the majority stake of the plant was sold to ArcelorMittal.[71]

During 1978, Voest-Alpine and other European companies started Bayou Steel Corporation, incorporated in Louisiana in 1979. The first mill opened in LaPlace, Louisiana in 1981, but the company did not do well because of high energy prices and cheaper foreign steel. During 1986, Voest-Alpine sold its interest to R.S.R. Corporation.[72]

In addition, Voestalpine AG owned a portion of Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau (VAI),[73] whose Voest-Alpine Industries subsidiary had its American headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[74][75] Siemens purchased VAI parent VA Tech in 2005.[76]

Voestalpine

History

Alpine Montan (1881–1945)

Construction of Reichswerke in Linz (1938)

Reconstruction (1945–1955)

Post war, development of Linz-Donawitz process (1948–1990)

Private corporation (1990–2001)

voestalpine AG (2001–present)

Main divisions

North American operations

UK operations

Submission of false information

See also

External links

References