Jun 27 2006
Investigations by fire experts have shown that the fire at the Krefeld plant of ThyssenKrupp Nirosta GmbH was caused by a technical defect in the annealing and pickling line. The fire broke out last Thursday in the stainless steel producer's cold rolling mill. It affected two production lines. In the meantime, work in the rest of the plant has been resumed. "We are working flat out to resume production in the affected area as quickly as possible," said Dr. Jörg Beindorf, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Nirosta.
The production lines affected by the fire will have to be replaced. This will cost a two-digit million sum and take several months. Until then ThyssenKrupp Nirosta will fill customers' orders using production capacities in other plants. Talks on this have begun with the company's plants in Düsseldorf-Benrath and Dillenburg and sister companies ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni (Italy) and Shanghai Krupp Stainless (China). "Thanks to the support of the ThyssenKrupp Stainless AG network we remain operational and can continue to meet demand for stainless steel products," explained Dr. Beindorf. ThyssenKrupp Nirosta is in contact with customers to minimize the impact on them.
The management and works council in Krefeld have agreed on a solution for the employees in areas affected by the fire. "Until the production capacities are restored we will use flexible measures to ensure that there is no risk to jobs," said the company. Some of the workers are to be deployed at other sites. Other measures include increased leave-taking, in-house performance of outsourced work and, where necessary, short-time working. ThyssenKrupp Nirosta employs a total of 4,200 people, including 2,200 at the Krefeld plant.