saarstahl


	Stages in the development of the Burbach Iron and Steelworks from its beginnings up to the merger with Röchling Eisen- und Stahlwerke GmbH in 1971

	22.06.1856		Foundation of the "Saarbrücker Eisenhüttengesellschaft - Société en participation des Forges de Sarrebruck" by Luxembourg industrialists and members of parliament including, among others, Viktor Tesch and Nikolaus Berger.

	from 1856		Construction of a blast furnace plant and a puddling plant with 20 puddling and six welding furnaces.

	13.07.1857		The first blast furnace is blown in.

	1857/58		Construction and start of operation of a coking plant with 52 furnaces.

	08.03.1858		Completion of an additional blast furnace.

	01.08.1858		Start of production of rails for railway tracks. In the financial year 1858/59, 5,500 t of mill bar rails leave the works. Hot metal production amounts to over 10,000 t/year.

	06.09.1859		Another blast furnace is added.

	17.12.1861		Decision to convert to a share holding company under Belgian Law called "Société Anonyme des Mines du Luxembourg et des Forges de Sarrebruck - Luxemburger Bergwerks- und Saarbrücker Eisenhütten-Aktiengesellschaft".

	27.08.1862		AG is given the official approval of the Belgian state.

	18.10.1866		AG is given offical approval in Prussia.

	1871		Construction of a blast furnace plant with four blast furnaces in Esch, in southern Luxembourg, along with the Luxembourg company "Société en commandite des Forges d'Eich, Le Gallais, Metz et Cie". 50 % of production goes to Burbach for further processing.

	1875/76		At the World Fair in Philadelphia, steel girders produced in Burbach are given the grade "Premium Quality".

	09.02.1880		The Burbach Iron and Steelworks obtains a licence to manufacture Thomas steel.

	1882		Founding of the "Société Anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux et Forges de Dudelange - Eisenhütten-Aktien-Verein Düdelingen" by the company "Société en commandite des Forges d'Eich, Le Gallais, Metz et Cie" and the main shareholders of the Saarbrücken shareholding company. In Düdelingen the construction of a Thomas steel plant gets underway.

	from 1885		The Burbach Iron and Steelworks is one of Germany's leading manufacturers of structural steels.

	18.03.1886		The Düdelingen steelmaking plant goes into operation.

	1890/91		Bau und Inbetriebnahme eines Blechwalzwerkes sowie eines Thomasstahlwerkes und Einstellung des Puddelwerk-Betriebes in Burbach.

	1895		The first open hearth furnace starts producing high grade steel. A second is added in 1899 and a third in 1901. All three have a capacity of 15 t. Purchase of an area in the Lorraine region, near Stieringen, for depositing large amounts of dross and slag. Following that, construction of a slag crushing plant and a Thomas mill for producing ground basic slag.

	1896		Commissioning of the eastern coke battery. Plants for by - products are connected to both batteries of coke ovens.

	ab 1902		Continuous extension and modernisation of the plant facilities: • Construction of a universal mill (1902/03) • Increase in capacity of the three open-hearth furnaces from 15 to 20 t • Construction of a wire rolling mill (1904) • A new Thomas steelmaking plant with four converters and a new hot metal mixing isle goes into operation (1907) • The number of blast furnaces has increased to eight by the year 1909. The production of pig iron amounts to 330,000 t a year. • Construction of a total of three ammoniac factories: two beside the eastern coke battery, one in the western battery (till 1911)

	Juni 1906		First iron and steelworker's strike in the Saar region: the workers at the Burbach iron and steelworks stop work for 10 days and strike for their right to unify.

	30.10.1911		Decision at an extraordinary general corporate meeting of the "Société anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux et Forges de Dudelange", to incorporate the two companies "Société anonyme des Mines du Luxembourg et Forges de Sarrebruck" and "Société en commandite des Forges d'Eich, Le Gallais, Metz et Cie." into the former. The new shareholding company (AG) is named "ARBED - Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange, Société Anonyme - Vereinigte Hüttenwerke Burbach- Eich-Düdelingen AG"

	1912		Acquisition of the plate rolling mill founded by Philipp Weber in 1895 in Hostenbach. Extension and modernisation of the plant in the period following including, among other measures,: • Construction of a new pusher-type furnace • purchase and assembly of shears and cranes

	1912		Share in the coal mining company "Eschweiler Bergwerksverein".

	December 1915		A benzol factory goes into operation.

	1914 – 1918		The works come to an almost complete standstill during the First World War .

	1919		Founding of the two companies "Société Metallurgique des Terres Rouges" and "Société Minière des Terres Rouges" by ARBED and other French and Belgian companies. Purpose: Acquisition of the plants and mines west of the Rhine which had to be sold by the German"Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-Aktiengesellschaft" as a consequence of the Treaty of Versailles. These included, among others, the "Brassenschmelz", a blast furnace plant in Esch, the Adolf-Emil Iron and Steelworks and a blast furnace plant near Aachen.

	ab 1920		Modifications and construction work are carried out on the production site. These include: • enlargement of the hearth diameters of the blast furnaces I, II, V, VII, VIII (1928 - 1930) • Start of operation of a coke battery with 60 chambers (1924) • Modernisation of blooming mill I (1925-1929) • Completion of the new 850 line for rolling track material and heavy sections (1928-1930) • Construction of a universal mill (1930) • Modernisation of four new blast furnaces (III-VI), including, for each one, two new air preheaters, vertical-horizontal bucket charging and a pre-positioned ore silo with a capacity of 40,000 t (1930-1936) • Construction of a new intermediate mill with a 750 blooming mill and a 600 or, respectively, 450 finishing mill (1931-1933) • Coke oven plant with 40 chambers (1934) • A second gas blower goes into operation (1937)

	1920		ARBED and Terres Rouges found a joint sales company called: "COLUMETA".

	1922		Foundation of a joint shipping company : "TRANSAF".

	1924		Shut down of the steelmaking plant belonging to the plate rolling mill at Hostenbach. Hostenbach now receives its raw material from the main plant in Burbach. Reduction of the workforce in this plant from 624 to 450.

	1926		Agreement of a community of interests between ARBED and Terres Rouges: including the unification of the Esch plants to form one production unit.

	1937		Merger of ARBED and Terres Rouges.

	1939 – 1945		All the production plants are severely damaged during the Second World War.

	October 1944		The operations in Burbach and Hostenbach come to a complete standstill.

	10.12.1946		The first blast furnace is blown in again.

	1947/48		Three further blast furnaces go into operation again. Monthly production amounts to 12,000 - 14,000 t of crude steel.

	07.09.1948		The plate rolling mill in Hostenbach starts operating once more.

	from 1948		Repair of the damage incurred during the war and modernisation of the plants including: • Modernisation of the eastern coal processing plant(1948-1953) • Demolition of blast furnaces I and II and replacement by new furnaces with steel-plate lining throughout (1949-1953) • Enlargement of the ore silo to hold 60,000 t of ore (1951-1953) • Eastern coking plant obtains a covered coal storage area with a capacity of 10,000 t (1952) • Construction of a semi-continuous small sections mill (1952-1954) • Construction of a Thomas steelmaking plant with two 1,400-t mixers and four 50 t converters (1955-1960) • Demolition of blast furnace VI and replacement by a new furnace with a hearth diameter of 6 m (1961-1964)

	1964		Production of phosphorous hot metal amounts to around 790,000 t a year.

	1965		A continuous billet mill with eight stands goes into operation in order to relieve the blooming mill.

	1967		Purchase of the railcar factory adjacent to the Burbach steelworks and of the "Hochofen- und Stahlwerk AG Differdingen-St. Ingbert-Rümelingen" (HADIR).

	02.07.1970		ARBED and the Völklingen Steelworks found the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Drahtstraßenbau" for building wire rod mill 11 in Burbach.

	01.07.1971		Merger of Völklinger Hütte RESW and the Burbach iron and steelworks of ARBED, Luxembourg to form "Stahlwerke Röchling-Burbach GmbH" retrospectively from 01.01.1971: * Shareholders with 50 % each: Industrieverwaltung Röchling und ARBED * At both locations the integrated iron and steelworks remain intact. * The Röchling family withdraws from the steel industry in the Saar region.