GMH Gruppe opens Europe’s only rolling mill with two roll blocks from Kocks

GMH Gruppe is setting new standards for customer performance with its new rolling mill in Georgsmarienhütte, which offers more flexibility, higher precision, and faster delivery.

GMH Gruppe, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of bar, rolled, and crude steel, has officially inaugurated a new state-of-the-art rolling mill at its Georgsmarienhütte site. The investment, which is unique in Europe, offers one flexible system that unlocks new possibilities for customers in terms of diversity, quality, and delivery performance.

The €26 million expansion marks another milestone in GMH Gruppe’s modernisation strategy, enabling the company to offer tailor-made steel solutions for the most demanding industries, from automotive and e-mobility to energy, construction, and mechanical engineering.

Technological innovation with European impact

At the heart of the new rolling mill are two high-performance three-roll blocks – RSB 370++ and RSB 445++ – that can be operated together or independently. This configuration gives GMH customers access to one of the most flexible production systems in Europe.

While the RSB 370++ has been in operation since 2001 and was modernised in 2012 for load application, the RSB 445++ has been built entirely from scratch, including the extensive infrastructure it requires. The customised system was developed jointly with the manufacturer, Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co. KG, and its high capacity enables significantly faster production cycles.

The principal innovation with the system is that both Kocks blocks can be flexibly combined in a technical breakthrough that allows the production of specialty steels with diameters from under 35 mm to over 100 mm that cover a wide size range of between 20 to 130 mm (perspective up to 142 mm). Moreover, the new RSB 445++ can be moved between the two rolling lines within minutes, no small engineering feat, as the block alone weighs 185 tons.

About GMH Gruppe

GMH Gruppe is a full-service provider of steel products, ranging from scrap-based steelmaking to ready-to-install components. It is one of Europe’s largest privately owned metal-processing companies. The group comprises more than 20 medium-sized sites of the steel, forging and casting industries, serving customers in over 50 countries. With around 6,000 employees, GMH Gruppe generates annual revenues of over 2 billion euros.

GMH Gruppe is a pioneer in sustainable steel production and a member of the ‘German Association of Climate Protection Companies’. By recycling metal scrap, the company produces green steel and contributes to a circular economy. The use of electric arc furnaces at four sites reduces CO2 emissions by 80% compared to the conventional blast furnace and converter route. This also reduces the carbon footprint of the customers supplied by GMH. These include companies from the automotive, mechanical engineering, railway, energy, logistics, aerospace, agriculture and construction machinery sectors.
GMH Gruppe is committed to achieving full climate-neutrality by 2039.
www.gmh-gruppe.de/en/