Salzgitter Group at EuroBLECH 2012 - Lightweight solutions for the auto industry
18.10.2012
EuroBLECH is the world's largest trade fair for the sheet metal processing industry. From October 23 to 27, 2012, some 1,516 exhibitors from 38 countries will converge on the Hanover exhibition center to display a broad range of innovative machinery, systems and materials. This event is both the leading fair of its kind worldwide as well as an economic barometer for this sector. The last EuroBLECH fair attracted 61,500 trade visitors from across the world.

You'll find the Salzgitter Group companies in Hall 16, Stand D121. The Group is Germany's second-largest steel producer, manufacturing a wide range of high-quality special and branded steels for an ever-growing spectrum of applications.

Themes and exhibits
One of the areas Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH (SZFG) will be focusing on at the fair is HSD® (High Strength and Ductility). This is a high manganese steel with added aluminum and silicon. Thanks to its mechanical as well as technological properties, HSD® steel stands out from conventional high- and ultra-high-strength steels. Manufactured harnessing using innovative belt casting technology (BCT®), it exhibits very high strength coupled with high ductility. A model of the production line will be on display on the stand. The exceptional properties of HSD® steel offer the potential for substantial reductions in weight, especially in components designed to cope with crash impacts. HSD® can also be substituted for high-priced materials, allowing cost savings to be made. The excellent forming properties of HSD® steels also mean that fewer processing stages are required, allowing for a reduction in process costs.
Other highlights at this year's fair include applications for Folastal®, SZFG's organically coated precision strip. SZFG was just recently singled out by its customer BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH for an award for outstanding performance in the "Prematerials" category. The Ford Focus hood on display serves as an example of the considerable material-widths which can be produced. SZFG is one of the few steel producers able to supply strip with a maximum width of 1,850 mm (after inspection up to 1,860 mm). This unusual width allows large-area components to be cut to size with minimum wastage. The potential material savings in are not only economically attractive, but also conserve resources.

Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung is supporting SZFG's appearance at the fair with exhibits and two presentations. One of these will focus on affordable lightweight chassis designs for the mass-produced cars of the future using bainitic and air-hardening steels. The second presentation will for the first time illustrate the potential of HSD® steel on the basis of components developed jointly with various partners.

Salzgitter Europlatinen is displaying custom steel solutions designed to reduce CO2 emissions. The "tailgate inner panel" and "side member" tailored blanks (using ultra-high-strength material) are examples of components used in current vehicles. These exploit the advantage of combining a variety of materials and sheet thicknesses. The thickness in individual areas has been reduced and the strength adapted to suit specific purposes. This results in weight savings (lightweight designs) and optimized production costs.

The presentation of Salzgitter Hydroforming is focusing on innovative hydroformed tube products. The range of applications for hydroformed components is constantly growing. The freedom of design which this process affords has for many years been reflected in successful advances in lightweight automobile construction, and is now attracting increasing interest in other branches of industry. The demonstration rig presented by Salzgitter Hydroforming gives a powerful illustration of how this media-based forming process works.

The Trading Division of the Salzgitter Group combines the steel stockholding business in Germany and Europe together with the Group's international trading activities. The Division also plays an important role in distributing the output of the Group's manufacturing plants. 
At this year's Euroblech, the main emphasis will be on Stahl-Service-Center Hövelmann & Lueg GmbH and Stahl-Metall-Service Gesellschaft für Bandverarbeitung mbH with their new strategy of offering products and service from a single source.
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