In the business year 2012/13, the Special Steel Division effected three acquisitions. In the third quarter, the division acquired the Canadian company Sturdell Industries Inc. with one location each in Canada and the USA in the proximity of existing Special Steel Division sales offices, in order to step up its service activities in the Northeast of the U.S., which deal especially with the mechanical processing (sawing, milling, grinding) of tool steels. This acquisition enables the division to leverage synergies and optimize cost structure in the local markets.
In the fourth quarter of the business year, nine companies with annual revenue of around EUR 50 million and 330 employees were acquired from the Eifeler Group, headquartered in Düsseldorf. Six of the companies are in Germany, two in Switzerland, and one in the USA. They are specialized in high-quality and innovative coatings for tools. This will enable the division to expand its service offerings in the highest quality segment and to meet the needs of toolmakers and tool users even better than before.
In the first quarter of 2012/13, the Metal Engineering Division made a strategically important acquisition in the wire segment. voestalpine Austria Draht GmbH expanded its activities in the sophisticated wire processing segment by acquiring 54.1% of the shares of CPA Filament GmbH from the Austrian Steinklauber Group. Within the scope of this joint venture, a new facility for the production of ultra-high-tensile fine wire (diameter of up to 0.08 mm) was erected in Fürstenfeld (Styria); it is currently in the process of launching operations.
Further expansion is planned in stages for the next several years. By the time all expansion plans have been completed, the new company is expected to generate a revenue of about EUR 70 to 80 million.
After the closing date, voestalpine took over the assets of Rieckermann Steeltech Ltd. (Shanghai) and P.M. Technology Ltd. (Shenzhen) in order to enhance the position of the Special Steel Division in China, a growth market. Around 100 employees are working at the two locations on the pre-processing and heat treatment of sophisticated special steels, which are used primarily in oil and natural gas production, energy and power plant technology, and the aviation industry and which have a high growth potential.
