thyssenkrupp Materials Processing is opening its new narrow strip center for stainless steel at its Mannheim site. The company is investing a total of €5 million in expanding its range of services in response to the increasing demand for additional services in this product area. Following the completion of construction work at Mannheim's Rheinauhafen harbor, the first stainless steel strip will roll off the GEORG precision slitting line this week.

The underlying approach: The layout of the site is aligned with the optimum flow of materials and no longer has to take into account the ideal loading sequence of the trucks, as was previously the case. Driverless transport systems move the provided goods directly to the truck, which is loaded in bays at ground level. The time-consuming process of moving from one loading point to the next in the hall, which was common in the past, is no longer necessary. As a result, several trucks can be dispatched at the same time. "This now not only allows us to process orders better and more closely to demand, but at the same time ensures more efficient processes, shorter downtimes and ultimately greater productivity with increased safety for employees," explains Dr. Tobias Hegmanns, Chief Operating Officer of thyssenkrupp Schulte.

What is already common standard in other sectors is a novelty for materials trading: As the goods can be up to 20 meters long and weigh 10 tons, only the automation of the systems and the driverless transport systems have made it possible to implement the concept economically. The traffic in the storage and processing areas, which is reduced to a minimum, also reduces the risk of occupational accidents, and creates increased protection for employees. For customers, the new logistics center not only offers a wider range of materials, but also a more extensive processing portfolio. From cutting and sawing to foiling, individual services are realized in a short time.

Holistic digital integration of the material flow

The site is digitally integrated and connected along the entire supply chain. Orders are processed digitally and paperlessly and can thus be ideally planned and tracked.  The inhouse-developed IIoT platform "toii" is the heart of the digital processes at the site. By connecting the plants digitally, data is exchanged directly without any manual intermediate steps. As a result, the materials flow is controlled more efficiently and in line with demand. In addition, automation increases plant utilization by smoothly coordinating the modern processing stations. The data analytics platform "alfred" ensures that supply flows are optimally coordinated on an ongoing basis. Based on intelligent, self-learning algorithms, it permanently analyzes the processes – from incoming goods and inventory management to order storage and delivery.

Role model for sustainability

Sustainability also played a decisive role in the planning of the new site – both in construction and supply chain management. The installation of a photovoltaic system will take place in the coming months. In the first stage, the aim is to generate electricity for the logistics center. In further expansion stages, electricity will also be generated for other sites of thyssenkrupp Materials Services. The area has its own rail line, which will be used three times a week to deliver materials by climate-friendly train track in the future. Order entry and processing will be mostly paperless. The new logistics concept also facilitates to plan routes, reduces downtimes, and significantly increases the utilization of truck capacity.

What potential the Rotenburg concept can hold for Materials Services is illustrated by one figure: the company currently has 500 trucks on the roads every day in Germany alone. The goal is to further reduce the number through more efficient and demand-oriented planning.

Logistics network for Northern Germany

The logistics center in Lower Saxony is part of the Materials Services subsidiary thyssenkrupp Schulte, the leading materials distributor and service provider in Germany. It was completed after around a year of construction and comprises 36,000m² of warehouse space where around 20,000 tons of materials such as steel or aluminum can be stored. This creates the greatest possible availability and performance. After a successful ramp-up, around 70 jobs will be created at the site in 3-shift operation. "Rotenburg is our new logistics hub for Northern Germany, here we have pooled our capacities from several previous locations to serve our customers even better. The location is geographically favorable and offers space for further growth which was lacking at the previous operating sites," says Detlef Schotten, Chief Executive Officer of thyssenkrupp Schulte.

thyssenkrupp Materials Trading has further expanded its sales activities for rare earths and signed an offtake agreement with Hastings Technology Metals Ltd, a future Australian producer. The agreement gives thyssenkrupp Materials Services exclusive marketing rights to up to 70,000 metric tons of rare earth carbonate for a period of ten years. This includes in particular the highly sought-after magnetic metals neodymium and praseodymium. Rare earths are used in high-tech products such as cell phones, LED screens and magnets, and are an essential component of new technologies such as electromobility and renewable energies.

Wolfgang Schnittker, CEO of thyssenkrupp Materials Trading, explains: "Our product range of rare earths is unique in the trading business. With this agreement we secure volume from an important future producer, can further expand our customer range and can therefore serve customer demands even better than before”. With this offtake agreement, the raw materials trading experts are Hastings' long-term global distribution partner. In the first five years of planned production from the end of 2023, Hastings will supply around 9,000 metric tons of rare earth carbonate per year to thyssenkrupp Materials Trading according to planning, and around 5,000 metric tons per year in the remaining five years of the contract term.

Martin Polczyk, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director responsible for the rare earths business added: "The offtake agreement with Hastings expands our distinctive position in rare earths trading in line with our long-term product strategy and expands our position in rare earths trading for years to come."

Charles Lew, Hastings Executive Chairman, said: "This offtake contract with a leading and respected global player like thyssenkrupp Materials Services is highly significant, demonstrating the commercial and technical strengths of the Yangibana rare earths project, primarily its high NdPr."

thyssenkrupp Materials Trading is an international trading and services company headquartered in Essen, Germany. Its product range includes raw materials such as alloys, nonferrous metals, minerals, coke, coal and ores, various raw materials for future technologies, metallurgical products such as steel and pipes, pipe accessories, finished steel and stainless steel, as well as trading with new and used industrial equipment, machine tools, spare parts, and structural elements for hydraulic steel engineering and the offshore sector, plus materials and logistics services of all kinds. The range is rounded out by tailored offers including financing and shipment.