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voestalpine Sadef N.V. enjoying success with innovative special sections for 70 years

29 June 2017 |

voestalpine Sadef N.V. is a leading global supplier of high-quality steel sections for sophisticated applications in the mobility and energy sectors. Part of the technology and capital goods Group voestalpine since 1991, today the company in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, celebrates its 70th anniversary. With 600 employees, a revenue of around EUR 200 million annually, and an export rate of 80%, voestalpine Sadef N.V. is an important economic factor for the region.

Founded in 1947 as the family-run "Société Anonyme D’Etirage à Froid", or "Sadef", today’s voestalpine Sadef N.V. has special significance for the voestalpine Group.

The purchase of Sadef in 1991 was the first major international company acquisition made by the former VOEST-ALPINE STAHL AG, today’s voestalpine AG, and an early indication, so to speak, of the comprehensive internationalization strategy introduced by the Group a good ten years later. At the same time, with its sophisticated portfolio of products for customized special sections, the company also represented the first step towards voestalpine’s later “downstream strategy”. voestalpine Sadef’s impressive development, due in the main to the excellent work of its employees, serves as an early best practice example of our Group’s current success.

Wolfgang Eder, Chairman of the Management Board of voestalpine AG

Today voestalpine employs a staff of around 50,000 in more than 50 countries on all five continents, 674 of whom work at three locations in Belgium.

Global demand for customized steel sections

Each year voestalpine Sadef N.V., a company in the Metal Forming Division of the voestalpine Group, processes 145,000 tons of steel into special tubes and sections by way of cold forming. The company premises cover 19 hectares of land and house 35 fully automated production lines for the manufacture of premium tubes and sections according to individual customer specifications. A freshly designed, customized product leaves the company premises every second day. voestalpine Sadef products range from pre-finished longitudinal members for trucks and assembly systems for solar installations, right through to applications in the automotive sector and warehouse construction. Its innovative solutions are in demand worldwide: the company’s export rate is 80 percent, with the majority of its output delivered to customers within Europe.

voestalpine Sadef N.V. has established itself as a global innovation leader in special tubes and sections for the most sophisticated customer segments—our highly qualified employees work consistently to advance these technologies. Each year we invest around EUR 8 million here at the site in Hooglede-Gits in order to further strengthen our position in the market.

Peter Schwab, Member of the Management Board of voestalpine AG and Head of the Metal Forming Division

Construction is currently underway to build a competence center which will bundle the Group’s know how in cold-rolled sections.

Metal Forming Division

The Metal Forming Division of the voestalpine Group achieved a total sales volume during 2016/17 of EUR 2.4 billion and an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 317 million. The division employs roughly 11,000 staff members and does business with almost all European car manufacturers. Within the Group, it constitutes the center of competence for highly refined sections, tubes and precision steel strip products and ready-to-install components made of pressed, stamped and roll-formed parts. Its combination of material expertise and processing competence, which is unparalleled throughout the industry, and its global presence make the division the preferred partner to customers who are looking for innovation and quality.

The voestalpine Group

In its business segments, voestalpine is a globally leading technology and capital goods group with a unique combination of material and processing expertise. voestalpine, which operates globally, has around 500 Group companies and locations in more than 50 countries on all five continents. It has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its top-quality products and system solutions using steel and other metals, it is one of the leading partners to the automotive and consumer goods industries in Europe as well as to the aerospace and oil & gas industries worldwide. The voestalpine Group is also the world market leader in turnout technology, special rails, tool steel, and special sections. In the business year 2016/17, the Group generated revenue of EUR 11.3 billion, with an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 1.54 billion; it has around 50,000 employees worldwide.