Saarstahl AG produces the thinnest wire rod in Europe

At just 4.5 mm, Europe’s thinnest wire rod comes from Saarland: The wire is a new addition to the Saarstahl AG product portfolio and is used for things such as rope and spring wire in the automotive industry and in mechanical engineering.

“With our new wire rod we are offering our customers a dimension that is the only one of its kind in Europe,” says Dr. Klaus Richter, Chief Technology Officer of Saarstahl AG. “This positions us once again as one of the leading manufacturers of drawing grades.” The wire rod is 33% thinner over the surface compared to standard 5.5 mm wire. One advantage the thinner dimension has over wider wire rod dimensions is that it eliminates the need for intermediate annealing of the wire. This cuts production costs during further processing. The material also does not become brittle due to the low drawing loss and thus has greater formability under load without breaking.

The 4.5 mm wire rod is produced at the Burbach rolling mill on the four-strand wire rod mill, one of the most efficient plants in the world. 550 employees produce up to 1.2 million tons of wire a year at the plant. “We are pleased to be able to offer our customers another dimension at an unrivaled level of quality with this new super-thin wire rod and to expand our product range,” said Tom Niemann, Chief Sales Officer of Saarstahl AG.