Salzgitter confirms to Kallanish it is seeking increased steel supply to the growing defence sector, amid calls from German defence manufacturers, including Rheinmetall, for steelmakers to ramp up production of military-grade steel.
“Demand for steel and armour steels is increasing and we are responding to this growing volume by bundling our group-wide activities in the area of safety in a Defence Task Force,” a company spokesperson notes. “Salzgitter is just getting ready for its first deliveries to the defence sector and the company has already set up a special division for this purpose.”
“Geopolitical tensions have set new measures of defence capability, and are creating new demand for security steels and special grades,” the company wrote in an April presentation. “We have a wide scope of steels for security purposes, and we are in talks with a number of suppliers of such components.”
The steelmaker said in March it will further expand its portfolio for defence purposes this year (see Kallanish passim).
Demand for armour steel is growing amid the war in Ukraine and a possible reduction in US military support for Europe, Bloomberg reports. The German defence industry currently relies heavily on Swedish supplier SSAB, which creates risks in the event of disruptions, especially when needs increase. In response, two German companies – Salzgitter and Dillinger Hüttenwerke – have already announced their willingness to cooperate with the defence sector, according to the report.
Dillinger, which has been certified for military supplies since 2021, is in talks with armoured vehicle manufacturers in Germany and Europe, it adds.
Rheinmetall and Dillinger Hüttenwerke did not reply to Kallanish request for comment.
Rheinmetall requires thousands of tonnes of military steel each year – twice as much as two years ago, and the company has already started buying within Germany, although it does not disclose its suppliers, according to the report.
Most military-grade steel producers in Germany are relatively small and vulnerable to periods of weak demand. The Federation of the German Defence Industries therefore stresses that state participation and guarantees are necessary to ensure a stable supply of armour steel for the army.
Earlier, Rheinmetall said it is considering taking over one of Volkswagen’s soon-to-be-unused plants, as the arms maker seeks additional production capacity in Germany while domestic carmakers struggle (see Kallanish passim).
VW’s Osnabrück plant is one of three that will remain unused for the next two years after the automaker decided last December to halve its production capacity in the country due to slowing car sales in Europe.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
