Aviation on the upswing: voestalpine secures several major orders

2022-09-06 |

Today, high-performance materials and sophisticated special forgings from voestalpine are indispensable in the aircraft models of the world’s largest manufacturers. Only recently, the High Performance Metals Division of the voestalpine Group secured not only a contract extension, but also several new and extensive orders for the supply of heavy-duty structural parts from American airplane manufacturer Boeing. In addition, prestigious Munich-based company MTU Aero Engines has commissioned voestalpine to supply highly critical forged parts over the coming years, for installation in a variety of aircraft models including the Airbus A320neo. The total volume of orders to 2030 amounts to around three hundred million euros.

After the aviation market came to an almost complete standstill at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, passenger volumes are again returning to pre-pandemic levels, at least in regional air traffic. voestalpine is now recording a significant increase in incoming orders.

Before the crisis, we had established ourselves as one of the world’s leading suppliers to the aviation industry. The current major orders not only reflect the noticeable recovery in demand in the aviation segment but are also an important sign of the high level of trust our customers continue to place in voestalpine’s forward-looking technologies.

Herbert Eibensteiner, CEO of voestalpine AG

In the 2021/22 business year, Group revenue in the aerospace segment was around EUR 255 million, and thus again clearly above the previous year’s level of EUR 180 million.

EUR 140 million for innovations

The High Performance Metals Division produces high-performance die forgings from titanium alloys, high-alloy steels and nickel-based alloys at the Kapfenberg site. In future, high-quality starting material for aircraft components will also be produced in the new stainless steel plant. High-tech titanium sheets for use in aviation are produced in Mürzzuschlag, and special profiles for engines in Bruckbach in Lower Austria.

Our products must withstand the most extreme conditions in order to ensure optimum safety levels in air traffic. To meet the enormously high requirements in this demanding customer segment, over the past five years we have invested around EUR 140 million in the aerospace sector at our Austrian sites alone. In doing so, we are constantly setting new standards in terms of product quality, process automation, and digitalization.

Franz Rotter, Member of the Management Board of voestalpine AG and Head of the High Performance Metals Division

The ongoing technological development is also appreciated by customers. Airplane manufacturer Boeing recently presented its Supplier of the Year Award in the Collaboration category to voestalpine BÖHLER Aerospace, a subsidiary of the High Performance Metals Division based in Kapfenberg. Only nine suppliers were recognized with a Supplier of the Year Award.

High Performance Metals Division

The voestalpine Group’s High Performance Metals Division focuses on producing and processing high-performance materials and customer-specific services such as heat treatment, high-tech surface treatments, and additive manufacturing processes—increasingly using digital technologies. Thanks to its unique sales and service network, the division offers its customers material availability and processing as well as local points of contact at about 140 sites around the world. The High Performance Metals Division is the global market leader for tool steel and a leading provider of high-speed steels, valve steels as well as other products made of special steels, powder materials, nickel-based alloys, titanium, and components, some of which are produced using additive manufacturing technologies. Its most important customer segments are the automotive supplier industry, oil & gas exploration, the mechanical engineering industry as well as the consumer goods and aerospace industries. In the business year 2021/22, the division reported revenue of around EUR 3.1 billion, of which about 50% was generated outside Europe, and an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 400 million; it had around 13,300 employees worldwide.

The voestalpine Group

voestalpine is a globally leading steel and technology group with a unique combination of materials 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 premium products and system solutions, it is a leading partner to the automotive and consumer goods industries as well as the aerospace and oil & gas industries; it is also the world market leader in railway systems, tool steel, and special sections. voestalpine is fully committed to the global climate goals, and its greentec steel program represents a clear plan for decarbonizing the production of steel. In the business year 2021/22, the Group generated revenue of EUR 14.9 billion, with an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 2.3 billion; it had about 50,200 employees worldwide.

Press Kit zip | 51,99 MB