Thyssenkrupp Steel spins off logistics into independent unit

Thyssenkrupp Steel says it will position its logistics activities as an independent subsidiary, under the name thyssenkrupp Steel Logistics GmbH.

Thyssenkrupp is not only Germany’s largest steel producer but also the country’s second-largest logistics provider with 142 million tonnes of goods transported per year, Kallanish learns. The company has therefore decided to develop this strength more effectively and to attain a share in the larger logistics market, it says.

The new unit will initially be a wholly-owned subsidiary with all existing 300 employees to become independent as of July 2022. The complete port complex comprising the Schwelgern plant port, to which raw materials are delivered, and the Walsum port, where general cargo is handled, as well as associated units will be transferred to the new company.

Being a smaller unit than the Steel segment as a whole, the new logistics subsidiary can adapt more quickly to changes. “This valuable resource of logistics can certainly utilise its capacities to the full if it can also be used by other parties on the market,” says Heike Denecke-Arnold, tk Steel chief operating officer.

The overall transformation of steel production will also change logistics, she adds. Once steel production in Duisburg has been switched from the conventional blast furnace route to direct reduction using hydrogen, large parts of materials supplies will no longer be needed. One example is coal, which is transported by ship on the Rhine to the Schwelgern port.

Christian Koehl Germany