Aug 1 2013
The sale of ThyssenKrupp Tailored Blanks to Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation (WISCO)/China has been completed. Following approval by the responsible regulatory authorities, the closing took place today. The agreement to sell the company, which produces tailored steel blanks for the auto industry, was signed in September 2012.
Sites and jobs have been secured under a best owner agreement. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The disposal of Tailored Blanks is part of the portfolio optimization program announced by the ThyssenKrupp Group in connection with its Strategic Way Forward.
ThyssenKrupp Tailored Blanks is an important supplier of body systems to the auto industry. Tailored products are made of individual sheets of different steel grade, thickness or finish, joined together by laser welding. The blanks are designed from the outset to meet the stresses in the parts in which they will be used. This results in significant weight and cost savings, for example in the production of body parts.
Headquartered in Duisburg/Germany, the global ThyssenKrupp Tailored Blanks group has been producing tailored blanks since 1985 and is the leading supplier in this segment with a roughly 40 percent global market share. The company has some 930 employees (approx. 300 in Germany) at 16 plants in Germany, Sweden, Italy, Turkey, the USA, Mexico and China. Its annual sales recently reached around 740 million euros. Included in the sale to WISCO is ThyssenKrupp Lasertechnik GmbH, a Ravensburg/Germany-based company which supplies laser welding equipment as well as systems for materials and parts handling, automation, assembly, and quality control.
Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation (WISCO) started production in 1958, making it one of China’s longest-standing steel producers. The internationally successful and fast-growing group is headquartered in Wuhan/China, employs more than 80,000 people and has a capacity of around 40 million tons. In 2012 WISCO’s output exceeded 36 million tons, making it the sixth biggest steel producer in the world. The company has subsidiaries and sales offices in more than 10 countries.