German service centre SSW expands production, storage facilities
German steel service centre Stahl-Service Westerhoff (SSW) is building a new production and storage hall which will triple the size of its operational area.
SSW, located in Ense in the Sauerland region of German state North Rhine-Westphalia, specialises in coated sheet, from basic galvanized to coloured, aluminium-zinc, zinc-magnesium, and other types of layers.
In the zinc-magnesium category, it uses ArvelorMittal’s Magnelis, “which we adopted right when it was launched,” a spokesman says.
The company currently operates a 5,000m² hall with a large cutting facility, a decoiling line, and a precision cutting line by Japanese equipment supplier Amada for bespoke requests. The input material is stored in a 2,500m² hall next door.
The new hall with 15 additional employees will measure 15,000m² to offer a storage and working capacity for 30,000 tonnes of material, a large slitting line and a multi-blanking line.
The start of operations is planned for spring 2027. “A healthy growth over the past years has enabled this investment,” the company says, and adds that it is also streamlining processes, shortening storage and throughput times.
According to the spokesman, this also means a consolidation of contractors it works with. “Our coated strip is normally in thinner gauges, so in case of thicknesses 5mm and up, we have them processed by contractors,” he explains to Kallanish.
SSW handles around 100,000 t/year of sheet. According to local press reports, the investment in the new hall amounts to €35 million ($41m).
