Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine has announced that the new ProForge hall, the largest ever investment project at the Böhler site in Kapfenberg, Austria, was officially opened on September 22.
According to a company statement, the forged steel bar production facility worth €130 million now houses the world's largest longitudinal forging machine and will give the site a significant advantage over its competitors in terms of quality, dimensions, delivery times and areas of application.
The new forging plant will enable Böhler Edelstahl in Kapfenberg to produce steel bars up to 15 meters long, with a diameter of up to around 550 mm and a unit weight of up to 8 mts. The centerpiece of the new forging plant is the world's largest GFM longitudinal forging machine RF100 with a forging force of 2,000 mt.
It was also necessary to adjust the steel plant and finishing capacity to handle the increased forging and heat handling capacity. A new gag press, peeling machine, grinder and cold-cutting unit will be housed in the existing hall 2 of the finishing area and a combined inner and outer surface checking facility has been installed in a new parallel hall. The capacity of the mechanical workshop was also extended with a new heavy-duty lathe and a vertical turret lathe to also make use of the new forging opportunities for freeform products.
"We approved the 2008 project during an extremely difficult economic situation because we were and still are convinced that only investments in technology, quality and service will secure the long-term success of our company. Today, at the beginning of the economic recovery, we know that we took the right approach. We are now ideally prepared to meet our clients' new requirements and handle their orders," said CEO Dr. Wolfgang Eder at the opening.
The company will continue with investments worth €21 million in total until the end of the year. Highlights are two projects planned for the roll forming line with a total budget of approximately €10 million, the completion of which is scheduled for the 2013 business year.