Vallourec’s Düsseldorf-Rath plant produced its last pipe last Thursday. This marks the end of the German pipe operations of Vallourec, which it took over from Mannesmann in 2005. The mill in Mülheim an der Ruhr stopped production earlier this month.
“This is the closing of an important chapter of German industrial history,” said a commentator at radio station WDR. According to daily newspaper NRZ, the last rolling of a customer order occurred on Thursday. Some other operations, such as delivery, will be maintained until the final shutdown at the end of the year, Kallanish learns from the paper, which cites shop chairman Vilson Gegic.
The mills started production in the late 19th century under the Mannesmannröhren-Werke (MRW) brand. Following the dismantlement of the traditional Mannesmann group in the early 2000s, Vallourec took over four pipe mills, of which two were closed earlier. For the two remaining mills it started looking for a buyer in late 2021, but half a year later decided on a closure. The two sites together have employed 2,200 people.
Other German pipe mills under the Mannesmann/MRW label back then were acquired by Salzgitter AG and are still operational.
Christian Koehl Germany
