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magazine The future starts today – withproducts, services and sparklingideas. The people at ThyssenKrupphave been working as a team for a long time. That is because trueprogress does not simply arisefrom individual effort. It comesfrom an international network thatcan produce the sort of things that will lay the foundation forfuture generations.

TK

Sylvia Herrero Arevalo, 12

“My dad makes gettingto the plane easy.”

TK

Developing the future.

Visit us on the Internet: www.thyssenkrupp.com

Germany remains a land of ideas filled with outstanding scientists

and creative entrepreneurs. This has brought us considerable

wealth in past decades. Yet, sadly, Germany’s innovative power

is waning. The result: Germany is losing ground in important and

promising research-intensive areas such as information technology,

biotechnology and genetic engineering. Here, the United States, the

Scandinavian countries and the Asians are setting the pace. “Made in

Germany” remains a seal of quality around the world. But I get the

feeling sometimes that we are all too content to rest on our laurels. Our

competitors have caught up and are outpacing us.

To fuel progress, we need a renaissance of technology and inno-

vation, and a new social climate. This means that we must instill en-

thusiasm for technology in young people, and promote the transfer of

knowledge among universities, research institutions and companies.

Finally, we have to communicate the use of promising, future-oriented

technologies better than we have done in the past.

One thing is clear: A solid future outlook must be based on solid

achievements. Only real achievements will help secure and lift Ger-

many’s international competitiveness. This is why we have to become

generally more innovative.

What needs to be done? Our society needs a sufficient number of

qualified and motivated engineers and natural scientists to hold its own

in the global innovation contest. The foundations for this are laid in the

schools. Germany can maintain its competitiveness in the international

research arena only if it manages to get young people interested in and

enthused by technology early in their lives. At the same time, we also

have to ensure that the natural sciences are given a higher priority in

curricula. ThyssenKrupp has long cooperated with schools in the Ruhr

region to get youths interested in technological careers.

Close cooperation with universities and colleges is also important

to strengthen the exchange of knowledge among researchers, teachers

and practitioners. This is why we cooperate closely with numerous do-

mestic and foreign universities. We place particular value on engineer-

ing, economics and business management. Our partners include such

renowned research institutions as the Rhine-Westphalian Technical Col-

lege in Aachen, the Technical University of Berlin as well as the univer-

sities of Bochum, Dortmund, Dresden, Hamburg-Harburg and Shang-

hai. In addition, we work closely with various institutes of the Fraunhofer

and Max-Planck societies.

It was true in the past and remains true today: A high level of in-

novative power is indispensable for business success on tomorrow’s

markets. Tradition is built on a permanent innovative capacity. Finally,

the creation of a favorable innovation climate is essential. There can be

no innovation without motivation. Innovation is a top priority and has to

be promoted from the top down.

Politicians, business executives and scientists must approach the de-

bate about the advantages of technological progress and its signifi-

cance for wealth and job security in Germany much more aggressively

than in the past. We need to energize our ways of thinking. And that is,

above all, a question of the basic approach toward the future. We have

to stop responding to any pressure for change by anxiously trying to

shore up the status quo. Germany needs more optimism and the will-

ingness to build and cross bridges. This is the goal of ThyssenKrupp’s

initiative “discovering Future Technology,” a platform to promote social

dialogue on technological issues throughout all strata of society and

age groups.

In any case, I get the impression that politicians, administrators,

scientists and business executives realize now that we need a more

positive public attitude. Our society is beginning to move, and rigidified

structures are breaking apart. We have not pulled off the turnaround

yet, but it is in sight. I’m optimistic.

What unites us is the hunger for achievement. This magazine will

tell you what all of this means in practical terms.

Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz,

Chairman of the Executive Board of

ThyssenKrupp AG

The fascination of innovationBy Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz,Chairman of the Executive Board of ThyssenKrupp AG

TK Magazine | 2 | 2004 | November

■ EDITORIAL ■ 1


2 ■ CONTENTS ■

4 Technology on television:Ranga Yogeshwar, head of science at the WDR

12 Creativity produces originality:From the “Youth Experiments” competition to the university degree

18 Winning the German DTM motor race with oil and gas:The shock absorbers of ThyssenKrupp Bilstein

24 When the customer is king:Mobile passenger conveyors for the royal family in Saudi Arabia

28 At home in the world:Germans abroad

32 From more to less:A new alloy prevents corrosion

40 Masterpieces in serial production:ThyssenKrupp Automotive – a competent partner

44 A courageous promoter of change:Interview with labor director Ralph Labonte

48 From covered to transparent elevators: Historic quantum leaps in elevator manufacturing

54 Traveling light years in aircraft construction:The miraculous material – titanium

48 Presented for the first time in1880, as a technologicalmasterpiece: the electricalelevator

18 Mercedes-Benz and ThyssenKrupp Bilstein:Up front in the DTM race circuit

TK Magazine | 2 | 2004

4 In his eyes, televisionshows technology atwork: Ranga Yogeshwar

24 The royal family of SaudiArabia enters itsaircraft via special passengerconveyors


■ CONTENTS ■ 3

60 Short cuts with thinking elevators:Destination selection control boosts efficiency

64 Mutually beneficial partnerships:Innovation management at ThyssenKrupp

70 Long-distance servicing:Intelligent escalators in Munich

80 The combination counts:New materials for a better environment

84 Sailing the seas with a cargo of innovations:ThyssenKrupp’s marine subsidiaries set standards

88 High-voltage superiority:A new coating process for unprotected metal sheets

94 Maximum precision through artificial intelligence:Neural networks and automated surface inspection

98 Around the world with research and know-howMaritime companies at ThyssenKrupp

104 The symbiosis of work bench and high-tech:Training youths for the future

112 Impressum

64 Innovation made visible:Groundbreaking surfacetechnology

80 Special alloys for thefuel cell: The environmentbenefits, too

98 Virtually around the world before crossingthe oceans: New ships from Blohm + Voss

104 Today’s youths learnabout the occupations oftomorrow

4 ■ RANGA YOGESHWAR ■

■ RANGA YOGESHWAR ■ 5

Technology on the small screenRanga Yogeshwar has long been busy discovering the future – as head of the science program group at the WDR public television broadcaster

By Heribert Klein | Photos Achim Multhaupt


Being fair toward new ideasRanga Yogeshwar has receivedmany prizes for his way of talking about technology andpresenting it on television. There’s one thing the journaliststill hasn’t lost: His interest in new technology and science.



Ranga Yogeshwar is sure of onething: That a turnaround hastaken place. People are lessskeptical about technology and science, and Germans arebecoming increasingly aware of the importance of technology.

The greeting is nearly just like the one you know from the television screen.

“Hello,” he begins. “Welcome, good that you found us.” It is the start of a long,

relaxed talk in his small but tidy and moderately furnished office in Cologne at

the four-story headquarters of WDR Television in the middle of the city, not far from

where the world-famous towers of Cologne Cathedral reach for the sky.

Ranga Yogeshwar, born in 1959, has also had a career that seems to reach for

the sky, if you will. Since 2001 he has been head of the Science Shows department at

WDR Television. He is not only head of a large department but also the moderator,

as before, of the science show Quarks & Co. – which has made him, to say the least,

extremely famous throughout Germany.

Just a few lines from his resume show that it is not only the extent but also the

intensity of what he presents to the public which has made him famous. A quick sum-

mary of his professional accomplishments so far would include 700 television shows,

numerous radio appearances, around 600 lectures and moderator of many discus-

sions.

AWAKENING A FASCINATION FOR TECHNOLOGY

What drives him? Being a representative of the world of science who nevertheless is

able to clearly and understandably present complicated subjects? Certainly that is a

part of it. But the list of titles used by Quarks & Co., most of which have been on WDR-

TV, show that program for program the staff under Yogeshwar’s leadership has been

dealing intensively with the latest scientific thinking for years now. In each 45-minute-

long TV episode the Luxembourg-born native has dealt and deals with subjects such

as Alcohol, the Everyman’s Drug, The Wonder of the Egg, The Latest on Cancer, Ad-

venture Bicycle or The Information Highway.

And he deals with the subjects very intensively. There is absolutely one thing that

nobody can expect from Yogeshwar – that he is just a talking head who only presents

to the public what his staff and a few experts have put together for a show. Quite often

he also tries out on the show whatever the staff has compiled, whether it be acting as

a human guinea pig who drinks too much alcohol for Drinking for Science or allowing

himself to go through magnetic resonance imaging to show the intensity of his own

brain activity. Maybe that is what is so special about him. Talking with him about his

own past tells us a lot about all that he has experienced. He graduated with a degree

in physics from RWTH in Aachen, Germany, writing his thesis on Experimental Ele-

mentary Particle Physics and Astrophysics. His work also includes stints in the field of

nuclear research at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the Nuclear Research Center

(KFA) in Jülich, Germany. One thing that has not changed over time is his intense

interest in technology and science, their history, development, and, of course, their

exciting future too.

In this he very much shares that which Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz, the CEO of

ThyssenKrupp AG, in the past few months has often declared the mission of the com-

Shedding outdated perspectives and clichés



pany to be: “To awaken a fascination for technology.” But of course, not just for tech-

nology’s sake. Anyone who assumes that about Yogeshwar will not get close to the

real person. When he knows something about a subject then he knows it thoroughly,

in its many different facets. Take the percentage of women scientists, “for example in

physics. Just four percent of women who pass their university qualification exams

study physics at the university.”

And in his opinion has there been a change in the social environment in the past

few years? “I am certain that the trend has changed. The skepticism towards science

and technology which still existed at the end of the eighties and beginning of the

nineties is becoming less and less. Not least of all, the internet is leading people into

new areas that have a lot to do with science and technology. This as much as anything

else is probably increasing the awareness of technology more and more.”

MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON NEW COMPREHENSION

Aha, one thinks, is that the television journalist talking about his own job – explaining

technology on television to as many people as possible? No, that is not the way he

would put it at all. The principles which are still decisive for him today are too clear.

“Understanding as the basis of a decision was and still is very important for me on

both the personal and social level.” Did this have something to do with his decision to

become a journalist? He did his first journalism work in 1983 so that he could work

later in radio and television. In 1985 he went to India for a year where he again dedi-

cated himself to science at seminars and conferences. Looking back he says, “It was

very much my personal decision at a time in my life when I had the option to say OK,

either keep going with your career in physics or look for something else.”

He chose something else. Since 1987 he has been permanently employed at

WDR Television in Cologne as the science director and has directed and moderated

programs like The Science Show, Headball, Quarks & Co., Lilipuz, Science Live, and

Globus among others.

Over the years he has won quite a few awards for the

way that he presents his topics. To name just a few: the

German Influenza Society Award, the Helmut Schmidt

Journalist Prize, the German Medical Association Prize

and the coveted Adolf Grimme Prize. It just goes to show

once again how much his type of television work is no-

ticed and valued. It also especially proves one thing: that

he is interested in the widest variety of topics.

It could have all turned out so differently. Born in

Luxembourg, he still says today quite clearly, “I could

have gone into politics since things that interested me,

such as various facets of the subject of peace or subjects

with social relevance and ascetic content would have ex-

cited me. Politics deals with subjects of similar quality.”

The reason that he did not go that route sounds sim-

ple, “With my family background, coming from India, born

in Luxembourg, and all that in Germany, I would have had

absolutely no chance.” Is he disappointed about it? No

way, he says, his work as television producer has become

just too interesting to him.

If a subject appears important to him, Yogeshwar

does not set it aside. “In the future, I think we are going to

have to make some structural changes, possibly even

give up a few clichés and old viewpoints. For many peo-

ple, the economy was always about class battles. Science

seemed strange or out-of-touch and politics was consid-

ered to be on a different planet. Today, I think that all

of us have to seek answers to the questions that come

Decisions presuppose comprehension



from these fields. As far as I can see, a lot has already happened in these areas.

If I had said that ten years ago as a journalist, I would have been stoned. But since

then I have gotten to know a lot of companies and business people about whom

I must say one thing with respect, these people have a responsibility and a sense

of responsibility for social issues that is absolutely remarkable and also under-

standable.”

And he adds that he has met many scientists who now feel the same way, “They

also now understand just as well that an isolated existence in ivory towers cannot lead

us to the future.” And politicians? Yogeshwar states his opinion clearly, “Unfortunate-

ly, the majority of scientists, business people and politicians are still locked in their own

categories.”

FINDING NEW WAYS TOGETHER WITH POLITICIANS

It is exciting to listen to the lines in his program that are important to him. He even

quotes thinkers from long ago such as Descartes (1596 - 1650). Interestingly, he

quotes Descartes not as a philosopher but as a scientist and mathematician who was

interested in analytical geometry in order to say at the end, Cogito, ergo sum (I think,

therefore I am).

Who is this nationally known television personality by the name of Yogeshwar?

Someone who is interested in a broad range of subjects. That is another reason why

he sits on many different advisory boards and boards of trustees - thus constantly ex-

panding his experience in politics, science and business. That is why one of his sen-

tences which people should say as citizens – in his opinion – sounds even more real-

istic, “Dear politicians, now we have to find a new way to work together. We cannot

throw rocks in each other’s path or wage partisan conflicts at every chance possible.

We have to understand that it is about something more important.”

His states clearly, “We have to be flexible in our heads. I think that we will have

to give up many of the crystallized categories and break with tradition. But we should

do it without following in the footsteps of the Americans or

the East Asians. We are Europeans. In my judgement, Eu-

rope still has a lot of strengths.”

It is not just words that he uses to present every-

thing that he encounters, everything that he experiences.

Married for many years and the father of several children,

he has put the most important principles which form part

of his life on a colorful piece of artwork - a meter-wide

sheet containing several concepts which are important to

him: Freedom, Truth, Clarity, Trustworthiness, Indepen-

dence and, lastly, Fairness.

He begins with freedom to think and freedom of

thought which result in an effort to find truth and clarity,

these in turn create trustworthiness before independence

and finally fairness follow. “The medium for which I work

is after all just an image of the world. As a journalist

sometimes you have to remember one thing clearly – that

you can do a lot of damage, that you can destroy the life

and life’s work of other people. That is why one of my

principles is that my efforts have to be fair to the idea I am

trying to present.

At the end, he says goodbye in his style. In his pri-

vate conversations he is not much different than on tele-

vision. That is why the end of his show Quarks & Co. is so

similar to the career and personality of Ranga Yogeshwar

the man: “That’s all for this time. Thanks for watching.

Tell your friends about us and keep watching. See you

next time.” 7

Ranga Yogeshwar describes his work as follows: “I work for the medium of television, which only ever reflects the world.” He’s convinced that Germany willhave to shed traditions – but without following in the footsteps of the Americans or East Asians.

12 ■ YOUTH EXPERIMENTS ■


■ YOUTH EXPERIMENTS ■ 13

By Sybille Wilhelm | Photos Achim Multhaupt

An educational disaster doesn’t always have to be bad. After all,

when the German media criticized the looming intellectual dete-

rioration of the country’s youth in the mid-1960s, the journalist

Henri Nannen came up with a good idea. Under the motto “We’re look-

ing for tomorrow’s scientists,” he adapted an American program and

called on the next generation to enter a competition. The result was

“Youth Experiments,” an educational initiative that is still unparalleled,

and meets with a high level of acceptance and support throughout all

levels of society.

Looking back on nearly 40 years of Youth Experiments, it quickly

becomes clear that history repeats itself. The theme of the first podium

discussion in 1966 sounds very familiar. Back then, business, political

and media experts were concerned that Germany was running out of

natural scientists and engineers. “To mark the 40th anniversary of

Youth Experiments next year, we will debate this question again,” says

Dr. Uta Krautkrämer-Wagner, director of the Youth Experiments Foun-

dation. Answering this question is just as crucial today: “Just look at

how many talented people are leaving Germany.”

BROAD SUPPORT THROUGHOUT SOCIETY

The director explains that the well-targeted marketing strategy de-

signed by the former head of Stern magazine Henri Nannen led to the

success of Youth Experiments. “He sold the competition as an instru-

ment of educational policy. That’s why Youth Experiments has been so

widely accepted throughout German society,” says Krautkrämer-Wagner.

Fantasy and creativity are the prerequisites for an application. “We

don’t dictate a theme. That makes us different from other competi-

Researchers start out youngThyssenKrupp sponsors the competition “Youth Experiments” – and has a number of former youth researchers on its staff

Bernd Voss won a regional Youth Experiments competition with a newmeasuring process in 1987.Today, he is project head at Rothe Erde, a subsidiary ofThyssenKrupp Technologies.



tions,” she explains. “Every participant must have an idea and develop

the project alone.” The only condition is that it fits into one of the seven

disciplines specified.

During the early years of the program, participants ranging in age

from 16 to 21 could hand in projects in the classical subjects of biolo-

gy, chemistry, mathematics and physics. Later, other disciplines were

added: technology in 1968, earth and space sciences in 1969, and the

working world in 1975

A SPECIAL AWARD FOR ORIGINALITY

Young people still have the same desire to tinker now that they did when

the competition was launched in 1965. In the first year, 244 girls and

boys presented their research findings. This year, more than 8,000 par-

ticipants – around 38 percent of them girls – are taking part in the 39th

competition. Politicians were also quick to catch on to the idea of moti-

vating young people to conduct research. Since 1971, the German

chancellor has given a special prize for the competition’s most original

idea and invited the winner to the seat of the government. Since 1977,

the German president has been the competition’s patron.

The foundation can’t manage the stampede of thousands of

young applicants alone. And it doesn’t want to. The initiative views

From the work bench to thedesk. Bernd Voss took part in Youth Experiments as anapprentice. After completing his studies, he returned to Rothe Erde. Thanks also to thecompetition, his name was well remembered.

Tradition for the future



itself as a project for the entire society, which is a main ingredient to its

success. Today, there are around 2,500 jurors across Germany, 3,000

teacher-advisers and 100 companies that support Youth Experiments.

“We are a giant network, in which everyone participates to make the

competition a success,” says Krautkrämer-Wagner. In fact, the director

has even had to console a few companies looking to become a partner

of one of the many competitions. “The partner companies that we have

rarely withdraw,” she says. “And we have a long waiting list, in case

that happens.”

NEVER TOO YOUNG TO EXPERIMENT

In 66 regions in Germany, companies put on regional competitions.

ThyssenKrupp, for example, has been responsible for Dortmund, Duis-

burg and Düsseldorf for years. From there, the winners enter the

statewide competition. And those who are successful there enter the

finals at the national level. In addition, there is now a whole series of

other competitions related to the foundation: People younger than 16

have been able to participate in “Pupils Experiment” since 1969. In ad-

dition, research camps, seminars and reunions are held.

The interest of the companies in creative young people is still great.

One reason is self-interest: Maybe an inventive researcher can be won

over as an employee later. “However, Youth Experiments is anything

but a recruitment camp for companies,” Krautkrämer-Wagner says.

“The companies would need a lot of patience. It takes a long time be-

fore a 12th grade student has finished studying.” But indirectly, Youth

Experiments is tomorrow’s talent bourse. The young people can meet

company representatives at the competitions and often arrange for in-

ternships. “And when an application boasts the successful participa-

tion in Youth Experiments, this applicant makes a clear impression

above the masses of other applicants,” says the Youth Experiments

director.

But careers can definitely evolve from the relationship between a

company and the competition. Take Bernd Voss and Rothe Erde GmbH,

a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Technologies. Today, Bernd Voss is pro-

ject director for the design department of a worldwide leading manu-

facturer of large-diameter anti-friction bearings. In 1987, he was doing

a mechanical apprenticeship in workshop fitting, when he came across

Youth Experiments: “Our apprenticeship director asked if that might be



something for us. So three of us sat down and thought about the

project we could use in the competition.”

The result was a project on “measuring roller bearing forces with

ultrasound.” During the research phase, the three apprentices proved

that it is possible to take disturbance-free external measurements of the

pressure put on large-diameter anti-friction bearings used for turning

cranes, excavators and tunneling machines. The regional jurors were

so excited that the Lippstadt apprentices won first place in the regional

competition.

THE CONTACT WAS ALWAYS THERE

The apprentices didn’t make it past the statewide competition, but

Bernd Voss still remembers the competition today. And the support

of his employers. “We were able to set up our testing equipment in

the laboratory, and whenever we had to write anything the secretaries

helped us type it up,” the former apprentice says, explaining the

practical support they received. The apprentice director not only

encouraged the participation in Youth Experiments but also urged the

three boys to keep experimenting during all phases of the project.

Bernd Voss left the company after his apprenticeship to complete

vocational school. After that, he studied mechanical engineering and

specialized in design technology. “But the contact was always there,”

he explains. “And a lot of people remembered my name because they

associated it with Youth Experiments.”

During his college years, the engineer completed several intern-

ships and vacation jobs at the company before returning to Rothe Erde

in 1993, first as a staff member in the design department. He became

project director in 1998.

What the former participant really appreciates about the Youth Ex-

periments initiative is that independence is stressed early on. “At first

we had an idea and nothing else. We were completely on our own when

it came to proving that the measuring process worked,” Voss explains.

“This kind of experience helps later in college.”

The former regional winner warmly recommends Youth Experi-

ments. And even more so to adults: “Young people at that age need

external motivation,” he says, convinced of the importance of the

advisers. “At 16 or 17, people have completely different things in

their heads.” 7

Bernd Voss is excited about theconcept of Youth Experiments.The independence that isrequired of the participants also later helped him during his university studies.

The competitionfosters independentwork


18 ■ SHOCK ABSORBERS ■

By Paul Schinhofen | Photos Rainer Kaysers

Absorbed by victoryThe Mercedes-Benz C-Class competes on the DTM circuit with shock absorbers from ThyssenKrupp Bilstein

Top technology at the top: Bernd Schneider in this year’s DTM circuit


■ SHOCK ABSORBERS ■ 19

When the starting light turns green, the earth literally shudders.

That’s when 21 eight-cylinder engines with around 470 hp

each roar and catapult the racing cars, with silhouettes remi-

niscent of refined upper-class sedans, to 100 km/h in less than four

seconds. It looks like pure chaos as the cars race toward the first curve,

but the drivers somehow manage to get their Audi A4s, Mercedes-Benz

C-Classes and Opel Vectras into some sort of order as they speed

ahead, giving the numerous fans along the course an hour of racing at

its best.

Germany’s DTM races guarantee exciting motor sports - the strict

rules create largely equal competitive conditions. Still, the race cars

with the star on the hood are usually the first to cross the finish line.

That’s when the champagne corks start popping. But the Mercedes

team is not the only group doing the celebrating. Dirk Spohr, the head

of Motorsports Technology at ThyssenKrupp Bilstein, also can give a

satisfied smile. The reason: The four Mercedes C-Class vehicles in the

Swabian HWA team, which is responsible for racing activities in the

DTM, cruise from victory to victory using gas pressure shock absorbers

produced by the tradition-rich company from Ennepetal. The excite-

ment in the ThyssenKrupp Bilstein camp was especially great after the

race on the Norisring in Nuremberg: The racing weekend attracted

around 130,000 fans this year, and three Mercedes drivers shared the

spots on the podium, each representing a car equipped with Bilstein

gas pressure shock absorbers.

TRIPLE VICTORY FOR MERCEDES AND BILSTEIN

Although Nuremberg’s Dutzendteich street course has only three

straights, two hair-pin turns and one double bend, the 2.3-kilometer

track is one of the most demanding courses of the DTM circuit. The

Norisring has the reputation of being a brake-heavy course. But, thanks

to its many bumps, it is also known as the shock-absorber course. Op-

timal wheel grip is critical, especially in the braking zones and high-

speed straights – this is where decisive tenths of a second can be

gained or lost. Only a tire that has almost continuous road contact

Bernd Schneider, four-time DTM champion, uses every centimeter of the race course



has the ability to transform the acceleration force of the V8 engines into

optimal drive or transfer the extreme deceleration value of the powerful

brake system to the road surface.

Since the beginning of the 2004 season, the four Mercedes C-

Class race cars of the HWA team from Swabia’s Affalterbach have been

working with the Bilstein BS 101 shock absorbers, a version that stands

out because of its interesting construction details. The company that

delivers this innovative high-tech product exclusively to the HWA team

is ThyssenKrupp Bilstein GmbH, part of Automotive. HWA stands for

Hans-Werner Aufrecht, who in the 1960s founded AMG, the Mercedes

tuning company. Later, this manufacturer of explicitly sporty versions of

various Mercedes-Benz models has become a subsidiary of Daimler-

Chrysler AG.

Standing behind the Bilstein BS 101 name is something like the

universal genius of the complex world of shock absorbers. The term

“shock absorber” is actually a misnomer. Its job is to damp oscillations.

The car sits mostly on the springs. Simply put, the shock absorbers pre-

vent the car from jumping off the street. Every bump in the road caus-

es the springs – and with them the body – to oscillate. This must be

damped.

THE SHOCK ABSORBER WORKS IN TWO DIRECTIONS

To do this, the shock absorbers work in two directions: Upon compres-

sion, shock absorber jounce is activated, which usually must absorb

higher levels of force. When the wheel rebounds, rebound damping

causes the fastest possible deflection of the vibrations. In the Bilstein

gas pressure shock absorber, the working piston divides the oil-filled

damper body into an upper and lower reservoir. The upper (rebound) is

limited by the closure package, the lower (compression) by the dividing

piston. The pressurized gas compartment serves as a compensation

reservoir for the oil that is displaced by the piston rod. Its pressure is re-

sponsible for bracing the forces of compression. Spring washers and

The Norisring in Nuremberg places high demands on shock absorbers



holes on the working pistons determine the damping power – the de-

tails are kept secret. In addition, the bypass oil stream can be varied ex-

ternally in the rebound and compression stages, making it fast and

easy to create damping characteristics that are tailored to the specific

course.

The Bilstein BS 101 has 10 centering ribs each for both levels.

That isn’t something fundamentally new in racing sports, but until now

it has been both work-intensive and complicated. “In the past, tuning

was highly work intensive and not always clear. With our system, it’s be-

come much easier. A few steps suffice and a new adjustment has been

made,” says Dirk Spohr, explaining the advantages of the new devel-

opment.

The respective centering ribs for rebound and compression are

numbered from one to 10, and the adjustment is done externally on the

tuning wheels. The use of two colors simplifies things even more. The

numbers for rebound damping are on a red background. The makes

Exciting races enthuse the crowd

The German DTM championships have become a popular event



Dirk Spohr, head of Motorsports Technology at ThyssenKrupp Bilstein, showing the shock absorbers,which weigh just 560 grams, thatare used for Mercedes-Benz’ DTMrace cars

double sense since in English racing language rebound damping is also

called rebound. Blue stands for compression. The short form is bump.

The four HWA team drivers – Britain’s Garry Paffett, the Nether-

lands’s Christijan Albers, the Frenchman and former Formula 1 driver

Jean Alesi and the four-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider from St.

Ingbert – appreciate this simple handling as well as the blow-off sys-

tem, which is integrated into the shock absorbers and was further im-

proved for the racing season. The shock absorber valves are especial-

ly sensitive when the drivers attack the curbs in an effort to gain

fractions of a second for the individual driving times that determine

starting positions. This blow-off function reacts very sensitively to the

hard pounding from the tires hitting the curbs. The outcome: The hard

blows are better absorbed, and the vehicle is calmer, which results in

better lap times.

These successes are the result of determined developmental

work on all details. “Bilstein has been successful in motor sports since

the 1960s and is synonymous with gas pressure shock absorbers,”

says Dirk Spohr. The basic principle of the gas pressure shock ab-

sorber, discovered by the Frenchman de Carbon in the 1940s, has been

in use for years and undergone continuous development. “But you

have to keep optimizing all components of the shock absorbers, and

you can never rest on your laurels. Here at ThyssenKrupp Bilstein, our

work is highly integrated. We profit from the close cooperation with pre-

series development and can use the experience of our colleagues for

our development process immediately. On the other hand, our results

as regards valve tuning or weight optimization are of great interest to

colleagues in series development,” the motor sports head says in ex-

plaining work flows. The ambitious but modest engineer is especially

grateful for the numerous resources that a group like ThyssenKrupp AG

has to offer. The piston rod, which is hollow to keep the weight down, is

made of high-quality, especially light-weight alloy steel. The shell is

made of a special aluminum material. Dirk Spohr does not want to re-

veal further details since the low total weight of just 560 grams is an-

other unique feature in Bilstein’s design.

FINISHING TOUCHES IN TEST DRIVING

The BS 101’s career began with many hours of tough shock absorber

work on the hydropulser. The permanent simulation of the load popula-

tion of various DTM race courses has led to a continuous flow of im-

proved centering ribs. The prototypes also get their finishing touches

The shock absorberensures safe drivingbehavior



during test driving in the car. In addition to the values determined and

the lap times, the personal impression of the professionals is very im-

portant to Dirk Spohr’s team. “The driver and his vehicle engineer are

responsible for the chassis’ overall tuning. Since standard tires are

used in the DTM, adjusting the springs and shock absorbers has a large

impact on handling,” says Dirk Spohr. Like the Formula One races, the

DTM determines the starting positions within the framework of individ-

ual driving times. Everything has to be right in a fast lap, but, most im-

portant, the tire temperature should be optimal from the beginning. An

optimally working shock absorber is an important component in the

complicated interplay of a computer-calculated chassis geometry.

For ThyssenKrupp Bilstein, motor sports create more than a pres-

ence at the professional and prestigious DTM. From an economic per-

spective, an attractive range of products for the numerous amateur and

hobby racing car drivers generates sales and polishes its image. Here,

as elsewhere, the goal is to increase efficiency. To this end, racing spe-

cialists in Ennepetal are developing a modular shock absorber program

with mostly standardized components that exploit the DTM results. To

bring this ambitious object to the production stage as soon as possible,

a Porsche 911 GT3 RS is being used as a rolling laboratory. It will join

all of the races at the Nürburgring’s legendary Nordschleife circuit. The

24-kilometer “green hell,” as the Eifel circuit is often called, is seen as

a very demanding race course that places extreme demands on drivers

and above all on materials. Each of the 10 races of the long-haul cham-

pionship as well as the legendary 24-hour race on the Nürburgring pro-

vide Bilstein’s crew with important insights that can be used during the

next race in the form of an improved version of the shock absorber.

MOTOR SPORTS – A TRADITION AT THYSSENKRUPP BILSTEIN

ThyssenKrupp Bilstein’s tradition-rich relationship with motor sports and

the resulting innovation can hardly be documented better. The Bilstein

name is not just at the forefront of the DTM. The company also has been

devoted to this sport for decades. After all, this is a critical component

in the company’s success story. The first German chancellor, Konrad

Adenauer, drove through the countryside in a Mercedes 300 that used

Bilstein shock absorbers. Their descendants have created virtually vi-

bration-free driving for countless national and international champions.

And the Bilstein BS 101 will be there next year, too. What it will be

able to accomplish then is a question that Dirk Spohr answers with a

smile. 7


24 ■ PASSENGER CONVEYORS ■


■ PASSENGER CONVEYORS ■ 25

By Sybille Wilhelm | Photos ThyssenKrupp Fahrtreppen

Seven staircases for the royal familySaudi Arabia needed mobile passenger conveyors. It’s not that easy

ThyssenKrupp will let the customer be king. Quite literally: The

times when members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family had to climb

stairs to enter one of their aircraft are long gone. Instead, one of

seven specially manufactured passenger conveyors now brings them

on board their plane in a kingly manner.

The royal contract was a special assignment for Frank Lunderstedt,

project head for mobile equipment at ThyssenKrupp Fahrtreppen. Yet

the Hamburg based company, which specializes in escalators and

passenger conveyors and is part of ThyssenKrupp Elevator, often wel-

comes customers who are looking for more than a standardized solu-

tion: “It is quite normal for us to accommodate the customer’s wishes

and manufacture exactly that conveyor which the customer wants,”

says Frank Lunderstedt.

The contract from Saudi Arabia was exceedingly ambitious with

regard to the technological specifications. “A passenger con-

veyor is subject to immense forces when a vehicle transports

it across the maneuvering area to an aircraft,” the project head ex-

plains. The conveyors, each of which weighs 16 tons, are not torsion-

proof, which means that they cannot compensate for movement while

making their way across the maneuvering area. If the conveyor drafts

on the bumpy ride across the maneuvering area, the mobility of the en-

tire equipment is gone. “The properties of stiff car bodies are entirely

different to those of a truck chassis, for example when dri-

ving up the kerb,” explains Frank Lunderstedt. “The chassis is

twisted.” That is why the Hamburg designers came up with a

sophisticated system that joints up the conveyor to the chassis.

In addition, they developed a completely new frame. To dampen

the vibrations during the drive, special hydraulic cylinders were used

that were mounted onto the specially produced Mercedes-Benz chas-

sis. In this way, the royal conveyors can now take blows during the drive

without any harm.

SAFE AND SOUND FIVE METERS ABOVE THE GROUND

A particularly tricky part is leaving the passenger conveyor at the upper

end. To ensure that the royal family makes its way comfortably and

safely from the conveyor to the inside of the aircraft, a seamless transi-

tion was created up there, at a height of nearly five meters. This task

was all the more difficult because this transition could not be connect-

There’s a reason why passenger conveyors areimmobile: They usually cannot take blows during the drive without any harm.


26 ■ PASSENGER CONVEYORS ■

ed firmly to the aircraft. For depending on how much weight or fuel the

aircraft is carrying, the boarding level changes.

The Hamburg experts solved the height problem with the help of

an intelligent hydraulic system, which adjusts to the respective height.

The whole process is supervised with a video camera from the driver’s

cab of the transport vehicle. However, there are certain limits to this

flexibility: The conveyors are designed to fit a Boeing 747, the royals’

preferred aircraft for long-haul flights.

Once the aircraft arrives at its destination, the conveyors of the

type Tugela FT 842 are fully self-sufficient. A hydraulic auxiliary drive in

the vehicle drives both an electricity generator and the hydraulic equip-

ment. “The area from where the royals depart is usually a long way off

the terminal where other passengers are checked through,” says Frank

Lunderstedt. “This is why we have developed a self-sufficient electrici-

ty provision system.”

This too was somewhat more complicated in the case of the royal

conveyors than in the case of other escalators. After all, any piece of

technical equipment is susceptible to extreme weather conditions. And

it can get very hot in Saudi Arabia. For example, the capital city of

Riyadh regularly registers temperatures around 50 degrees Celsius in

the summer. These high temperatures cause the normal rubber

handrails to age particularly fast. In addition, the royals demand

handrails in elegant gray, rather than the usual black. This meant that

synthetic handrails had to be used. To this end, the Hamburg experts

did not have to look for a proprietary solution for once: “Synthetic

handrails are available on the market; we did not have to have those

manufactured especially,” says Frank Lunderstedt.

NO SAND IN THE GEARS

Sand storms are another weather caprice in the desert state. Becausesand in the drive does not exactly help mobility, the ThyssenKrupp tech-nicians encapsulated the especially sensitive parts, such as step chainsand ball bearings, specially and protected them against sand.

The seven conveyors made in Germany now have their place on

the most important airports in the country. Aside from the capital of

Riyadh, this includes the port metropolis of Jeddah and the holy city of

Mecca. The royal conveyors are easy to spot from far away: They are

painted a creamy white, the subtly lit glass balustrades are bronze and

the steps were covered in a golden powder lacquer. In addition, the

royal emblem, two crossed swords, is flaunted below a golden palm,

widely visible on the paneling.

It is exactly this non-technical detail that caused the Hamburg

escalator manufacturers considerable headaches shortly before com-

pletion of the assignment: “The royal logo was exceedingly difficult to

obtain,” remembers Frank Lunderstedt. “In the end we got printable

artwork, not from Saudi Arabia but from Basel, where the royal family’s

aircraft are serviced.” 7

A customized product for the royals

The conveyors aren’t actually meant to fly themselves. Other than that, though, they can do almost anything on their own.


■ PASSENGER CONVEYORS ■ 27


28 ■ INTERNATIONALITY ■


■ INTERNATIONALITY ■ 29

At home around the worldFrom China to Norway: People involved in international business are in for a few surprises

A home away from home: Projectcoordinator Ralf Michael Kreusernow feels almost at home inShanghai. His family has alreadyaccompanied him once. After all,they wanted to get to know thepeople he had told them about.

By Sybille Wilhelm | Photos Rainer Kaysers

Food unites: When Chinese President Jiang Zemin opened the ex-

hibition “The Old China” at Villa Hügel in 1995, a banquet was

held on his behalf. And while the state guest was dining with the

German president and high-profile representatives of Germany’s busi-

ness community in the former Essen residence of the Krupp family, a

new business relationship was formed. Professor Berthold Beitz and Dr.

Gerhard Cromme of the former Fried. Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp reached

an agreement with the guest on the joint construction of a stainless

steel plant in China.

MUCH LESS TRANSPARENT THAN TODAY

Other employees soon sat down to determine whether the bosses’

business idea would work in the real world. “We got down to business

right away,” recounts Ralf Kreuser, head of central department Interna-

tional Projects at ThyssenKrupp Stainless in Duisburg. “We were sent

out to get a clear picture of the situation and find a suitable Chinese

partner.” Just a few months later, in November 1995, a preliminary

contract was drawn up. “And one should remember that China was

much less transparent at that time than today,” the project coordinator

says. “Most investors had good reasons for holding off on their entry

into that market.” In addition, the Asian financial crisis was casting a

long shadow, although China actually ended up weathering this crisis

surprisingly well.

The plan became a high-profile political matter in China and was

ranked as a project of national importance. This ranking also explains

the unusual partnership structure of the joint venture. The German part-

ners hold 60 percent in Shanghai Krupp Stainless (SKS), and the Ger-

man investors have always had an open door to licensing officials in

Beijing. “But the hierarchy pyramid was particularly high,” recalls Ralf

Kreuser. “And some processes took a long time.”

ThyssenKrupp therefore selected two banks with political influ-

ence to finance the roughly $1.4 billion joint project in China: a subsid-

iary of the World Bank and the German state financing agency Kredit-

anstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). “When problems arose, they were

solved at a high level. At the beginning, the World Bank usually had a

representative at the negotiating table,” says Ralf Kreuser. The “politi-

cal bankers” also ensured that the investment fulfilled high standards –

for example in the resettlement of the roughly 3,500 village residents

who had to make way for the new stainless steel plant, or in environ-

mental protection.

THE LUNCH BREAK IS HOLY TO THE CHINESE

When Ralf Kreuser is asked today about the details of China’s negotiat-

ing culture, the first thing he recalls is the lunch break: At noon sharp,

the negotiations always came to a halt. Even the request to quickly fin-

ish up a point and delay the break by just a few minutes was consis-

tently rejected with a polite “Mr. Kreuser, it’s lunchtime.” “The lunch

break is really holy to the Chinese,” the German says. After all, they use

the 90-minute break not only to eat, but also to relax. The project man-

ager was also told, “Oh Mr. Kreuser, it’s lunchtime,” when he wanted to

use the lunch break to make an urgent business call. After he persuad-

ed the interpreter to get the Chinese business partner to pick up the


30 ■ INTERNATIONALITY ■

Paint bucket and brush: Even at his desk, Thomas Pahle always keeps an eye on corrosion protection. telephone, the former disappeared – and did not return until after the

break. Ralf Kreuser is convinced that “he didn’t even try,” and he still

laughs about that episode.

Finally, the Chinese-German partners reached an agreement. In

December 1997, the signing of the contract was celebrated in Beijing,

and on Nov. 2, 2001, the first building complex of the stainless steel

plant in Shanghai was officially opened by German Chancellor Gerhard

Schröder. The plant has an annual capacity of 90,000 tons, and that

level is to rise to 290,000 tons in 2005. Eventually, the plant is sched-

uled to be expanded to 400,000 tons. “China has become the world’s

biggest market for rust-resistant flat products,” explains Ralf Kreuser.

“We still have a lot of potential. After all, we want to be among the mar-

ket leaders there.”

We, that includes the international management of Shanghai

Krupp Stainless: “The managing director is Austrian, his deputy is Chi-

nese, the corporate controller comes from Germany, the chief techni-

cian from Taiwan, the project manager is Australian, and the British

head of sales lived in South Africa for years.”

Although Ralf Kreuser has invested a lot of sweat into the

Shanghai project, he remains a realistic businessman. “The next few

Bureaucracy unites the world


■ INTERNATIONALITY ■ 31

years will show whether the project operates economically. If it does

not, we would have to decide against advancing the engagement.” If

the Shanghai project continues, the 58-year-old still faces a few

tasks that he will have to resolve there before he retires. If not, he will

happily stay in Germany, despite his great memories about China:

“The job is exhausting,” the frequent flyer says. “In the past, I traveled

to China twice a month. Now, it’s about every six weeks.” He has

figured out that he has spent about one-third of his life suffering

from jet lag since the project began. And his family life also has

suffered on account of his long-distance trips: “My wife and my son

aren’t all that happy that I’m gone so much. But at least I took them

along once.”

NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE IN BUREAUCRACY

Thomas Pahle has no trouble with jet lag on his project in Norway. But

he faces other challenges, like the bureaucracy: “One could get the im-

pression that the Norwegians have a rule for everything, although that

has traditionally been said of the Germans,” says the corrosion protec-

tion expert from PeinigerRöRo GmbH, one of the world’s major service

providers for the construction and maintenance of industrial plants and

technical buildings. But flexibility and reliability, combined with a will-

ingness to master new challenges and individual tasks in the interest of

the customer are among the things that make working for a service

provider so enjoyable and interesting for Pahle.

On behalf of Linde AG, the ThyssenKrupp Services subsidiary

from Gelsenkirchen has been doing scaffolding and corrosion-protec-

tion work on a gas processing plant of Norway’s Statoil in Kollsnes near

Bergen. Local working hours are one of the particular features of this

project in Norway, which is not part of the European Union: “In Norway,

an assembly worker may work no more than 56 hours a week or 168

hours a month,” explains Thomas Pahle, outlining the union’s condi-

tions. As a result, employees may spend no more than three weeks a

month on the construction site. “This means that we have to use about

one-third more people there.”

The deadlines are tight in Norway. The weather has something to

do with it. It rains a lot in Norway. But the corrosion protection cannot

be applied in the rain. “Nonetheless, we have strict deadlines as to

when we have to hand over individual parts of the building to the

customer,” Pahle says in explaining the northern European challenge.

“This is why our people have to make optimal use of the remaining

time.”

Norway is a special country for PeinigerRöRo for another reason

as well. Although the group is internationally active, new major plant

construction and expansion projects tend to be focused on Asia and the

Middle East. This is why the company works with subsidiaries there and

manages the European project business from Germany. And this is also

why it is a new experience for Pahle and his team to have a construc-

tion site in Norway. “From a logistical standpoint, such a project would

be much easier to handle in Germany,” Pahle says. “But there are vir-

tually no more major projects here right now.”

The service providers then decided to turn the problem into a so-

lution and present themselves as an international service provider with

these types of project activities – competent, flexible and reliable. in

rainy Norway no less than in other, sunnier countries. 7

2,500 tons of scaffolding, 70,000 square meters of corrosionprotection: In Kollsnes, Norway, PeinigerRöRo services a gas processing plant. Each second, theannual demand of a private household is channeled through the facility.

32 ■ INDIVIDUAL ALLOYS ■


■ INDIVIDUAL ALLOYS ■ 33

By Rüdiger Abele | Photos Michael Wissing

Filigree meshwork consisting of the finest wires: ThyssenKrupp VDM supplies not only the metal alloy, which the customer desires, but also the finished pre-product.

The end justifies the mixtureThyssenKrupp VDM creates highly individual metal alloys

At heart, perfume and metal alloys are basically the same. At their

basic heart, anyway. In both cases, experts mix together natural

ingredients, and even the tiniest amounts of these ingredients

can interact with other ingredients to create a totally new, enticing prod-

uct. The composition professionals never leave their mixing to chance

because they know all about the ingredients and their specific charac-

teristics.

Let’s make an exaggerated comparison: You could say Thyssen

Krupp VDM is an accomplished perfume maker in the world of metal-

making. Here, virtuosos create alloys that have previously unknown

characteristics – some ingredients are even taken in homeopathic

doses. Customers are delighted by this knowledge. And there is a good

reason for that: The material often enables the creation of a technical

product that previously did not exist in this same form. The sparkplug

with an even longer life span is one example of this work. Or a tank truck

that can haul extremely aggressive materials. Or an exhaust gas cat-

alytic converter with very low warm-up time and thus markedly higher

effectiveness.

MORE THAN 100 DIFFERENT MATERIALS

The road to the special alloy takes us through Werdohl. There, in the

Sauerland region of northwestern Germany, where the Lennetal valley

starts to widen, people talk about Nicrofer 6025 HT alloy 602 CA,

Aluchrom Y Hf or Nicrofer 5923 hMo alloy 59 – alloys created by

ThyssenKrupp VDM. The company offers more than 100 different ma-

terials, all of them singular. People who come to Werdohl are looking for

something special – corrosion- or heat-resistant material, a heating

conductor or a resistance wire, a special product for welding, a metal

with magnetic properties or precisely defined expansion characteristics.

At first glance, the products that arise from this process appear to

be completely unspectacular. Take the sparkplug mentioned above:

Since it was invented in 1902, the plug’s basic function has remained

largely unchanged, and nothing will change as long as the internal

combustion engine is the driving force in the vehicle. The combustion

chamber is filled with an explosive mixture, and an electrical spark sets



off the explosion, which sets the piston, the crank shaft and finally the

wheel in motion. And yet a lot has happened since 1902. An engine’s

number of revolutions, for example, has increased markedly, from per-

haps 800 revolutions per minute at the time to 8,500 revolutions per

minute and more in today’s high-performance engines – and every

fourth stroke needs its spark. In addition, a modern engine burns up the

mixture more fully and produces purer exhaust. The sparkplug is a reli-

able companion of such developments, thanks in part to materials de-

veloped jointly by ThyssenKrupp VDM and sparkplug manufacturers.

The latest innovation: By adding a bit of yttrium to the basic alloy, the

sparkplug’s longevity was raised to 100,000 kilometers. What’s that,

you say? There’s no need to blush if you haven’t heard of yttrium. Al-

though it is a natural element that carries the atomic number 39, it be-

longs to the category of “rare earths.” Nature only produces very small

amounts of this element. But these volumes are more than enough:

Less than 0.5 percent yttrium goes into the sparkplug alloys, which

consist mostly of nickel combined with chromium, manganese, alu-

minum and silicon. ThyssenKrupp VDM melts the raw materials into al-

loys to create flat and rolled wires that are delivered to the sparkplug

manufacturer on thick coils. They end up as middle or side electrodes

in the precision spark producers.

NEW SPECIAL ALLOYS FOR THE FUEL CELL

And what would happen if the days of the internal combustion engine

came to an end and sparkplugs were no longer needed? Then the fuel

cell could keep people moving. Even if it did not power the vehicle’s

wheels, it probably has a future as an additional energy aggregate

that would complement the car battery. It might also be used as a

compact power station in households. The fuel cell is advancing – and

ThyssenKrupp VDM has something quite special in store for the solid

oxide fuel cell (SOFC). It consists of several cells that turn hydrogen and

oxygen into pure water while also producing electrical energy. In oper-

ation, it heats up to 900 degrees Celsius, which has earned it the name

high-temperature fuel cell. For lack of a suitable alternative, ceramic is

used in the cell walls. That means designers have to use relatively thick

walls, and live with the fuel cell’s corresponding increases in weight and

What has become of the wire: A flexible pipe unit that decouples the exhaust tract of a car from the engine vibrations.

The alloy makes the material difference



volume. In addition, series manufacturing of ceramic interconnector

plates – their real name – is complex and expensive. A challenge for the

experts in Werdohl was created as a result, one that they mastered with

the research center in Jülich in 2001: Crofer 22 APU is the name of their

innovation, an iron-chromium alloy with a 20 percent chromium con-

tent, which for the first time fulfills several requirements that were pre-

viously considered incompatible: good high-temperature resistance,

high electrical conductivity and a low coefficient of expansion. “APU”

stands for “Auxiliary Power Unit,” a direct reference to the material’s

use in the fuel cell. Crofer 22 APU also contains a “rare earth”: The el-

ement lanthanum is added to the material at a concentration of just

0.08 percent. Together with the other alloy components titanium and

manganese, it ensures that a protective layer of chromium-man-

ganese-oxide forms on the surface of the interconnector plates as soon

as the fuel cell is activated. This coating prevents unwanted chromium

ablation while ensuring the necessary electrical conductivity of the in-

terconnector plates. Of course, this does not make the high-tempera-

ture fuel cell ready for serial production. But it represents an important

step in that direction.

SPECIAL SOLUTIONS FOR SPECIAL PROBLEMS

In their unending hunt for innovations, car manufacturers frequently

come to ThyssenKrupp VDM for help. Here, they get the right material

in precisely the shape they need. Take the airbag: When the sensors

abruptly ignite the capsule in a crash, a temperature of about 2,500

degrees Celsius is produced within milliseconds. A heat-resistant wire

from Werdohl then has a job to perform. It becomes a dense, filigree

meshwork where the metal has a high surface area and can thus ab-

sorb a lot of heat.

Or take the catalytic converter in cars: Its interior, which consists

of numerous cells and channels, also has to offer a maximum surface

area to ensure that it purifies the exhaust fumes as efficiently as

possible. Until now, ceramic has been the most frequently used carrier

Chromium, manganese and silicon – and a hint of yttrium – are combined to make this wire. The “rare earth” yttrium ensures a long lifespan

Every fourth strokeneeds its spark



material to which the catalytic substance is then added. A wafer-thin

metal foil used as a carrier would either have to improve the purification

performance even more or help make the catalytic converter more com-

pact – at least that is what Emitec GmbH, a customer of ThyssenKrupp

VDM, was thinking. Once again, the materials stockroom did not have

an off-the-shelf solution on hand, that is a suitable alloy which, rolled to

the specified thickness of 0.03 millimeter – thinner than a sheet of

paper – could still withstand a temperature of 1,100 degrees Celsius. In

cooperation with Emitec, a new steel was created: Aluchrom Y Hf with

20 percent chromium, six percent aluminum and a precisely specified

content of yttrium and hafnium. A specially built cold rolling mill in

Werdohl uses this material to make the catalytic metal foil, meter by

meter and in consistent precision.

A CORROSION-RESISTANT TANK TRUCK

A bigger project – quite literally – was a tank truck used to dispose of

highly aggressive substances. Usually, such a container consists of

glass-fiber reinforced synthetic material, which is lined with Teflon. But

this solution has a downside: The walls have to be thick to ensure tank

stability – which makes it heavy. The tank is also susceptible to damage

and difficult to recycle. A tank made by ThyssenKrupp VDM from the

special alloy Nicrofer 3127 hMo-alloy 31 does not have these disad-

vantages. In it, nickel, chromium and molybdenum provide corrosion

resistance. The mixture also offers a longer lifecycle and is easier to

clean. The first tank truck equipped in this way is already transporting

its explosive freight, and other vehicles will follow.

The list of products that are made with materials from Thyssen

Krupp VDM is long. Their perfect operation in daily life is often taken

for granted. The electric hairdryer is a good example. No, you do not

have to know that its heating coil also comes from Werdohl. But you

may wish to learn that even the smallest piece of material in any alloy

is used for a purpose in order to create a certain effect – with a refined

sense of smell, so to say. The way that only a master perfume maker

can do it. How enchanting! 7

Meter by meter, the best metal and most refined alloy, as well as a highly precise wirethat is used in the customer’sproduction – in a sparkplug.

Precision by the meter

1

4 5 6

2 3

7 8 9

40 ■ PARTNER FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ■


■ PARTNER FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ■ 41

Assembly-line masterpiecesThyssenKrupp Automotive is one of the world’s leading automotive suppliers

6 Every gasoline and diesel engine has one: the crankshaft. It transforms the lifting motion ofthe pistons into a rotary motionthat is relayed to the wheels andpropels the car.

7 Air suspension provides thehighest level of riding comfort:Cars virtually float over flat surfaces, cobblestones and bumps.Superb road-holding ability is auseful additional benefit.

8 Hot and thick – this is a good description of the oil thatcollects in the oil pan after it works its lubricating way throughthe engine. The pan, though, has evolved into a complicatedsheet-metal part.

9 The car driver uses his handsand feet to drive the vehicle to thedesired destination. The pedalsplay a key role in this operation.With their help, the driver canaccelerate the vehicle or stop it.ThyssenKrupp Automotive suppliesthe complete module, ready forinstallation.

1 In the cylinders of the combustion engine, air has to be let in and exhaust let out. The camshaft manages the valuetiming. One of ThyssenKrupp Automotive’s specialties is the“assembled camshaft,” which is individually designed for a particular engine.

2 Every car needs brakes that grip well. ThyssenKrupp Automotive uses proven gray cast iron to produce brake drumsand brake disks that enable cars to stop quickly and safely.

3 Demanding car buyers aren’t the only people who expect onething from a new vehicle: total comfort. The classic modules to provide passengers with a smooth ride are springs and shock absorbers – and they arrive at the assembly line ready for installation.

4 Axles and differentials, springs and brakes: These parts and much more are packaged together in the rear-axle system and are shipped to automakersready to be installed.

5 It is really hard to believe: The dashboard is mounted on a complex support system made of steel sheet. This ensures long life, stability and safety.

By Rüdiger Abele | Illustrations Andreas Weishaupt

People love their cars and hold them dear. They love

them because the vehicles quickly take them to

places they would have trouble reaching without

them. And perhaps that’s also why they are dear to them.

Very dear: After real estate, cars are generally the second

most important object people will buy for themselves. But,

of course, they get something for their money: a complex

machine that does not look like a machine, but, in the best

case, like a sculpture. A machine that one can slip into and

then feel comfortable. A machine that starts moving at the

turn of a key or at the push of a button. The buyer does not

need to know one thing about the complicated creation

process that goes into making his dream machine move.

FROM THE INDIVIDUAL PART TO THE CAR BODY

He can rely fully on the automaker’s expertise. But au-

tomakers have long stopped producing everything them-

selves. Instead, they work increasingly closely with part-

ners – automotive suppliers. Yet what these companies do

goes far beyond the mere production of individual compo-

nents: They act as innovative development, material and

manufacturing partners for the automakers. Thyssen

Krupp Automotive is one of the world market leaders in this

sector. The company customizes products in 17 countries

and at about 130 production sites, covering everything

from individual parts to full car bodies: ThyssenKrupp Au-

tomotive is thus the leading provider of car body parts and

engine components such as crankshafts, built camshafts

and steering systems. ThyssenKrupp Automotive also

holds a top position among new types of air spring and

damping systems, axles and complete chassis. You could

almost say that there is hardly anything that ThyssenKrupp

Automotive cannot deliver. But that would be a slight ex-

aggeration.

The product line-up ranges from individual compo-

nents to complex systems. For example? Springs and

10

13 14 15

11 12

16 17 18

42 ■ PARTNER FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ■


PARTNER FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY 43

shock absorbers are components that together with other

elements produce the module spring strut. This, in turn, is

added to other modules to create a complete axle which is

then delivered to the assembly line as a finished system.

The manufacturer specifies his exact requirements.

Often, automakers coordinate the construction of

their cars closely with ThyssenKrupp Automotive. After all,

ThyssenKrupp Automotive does part of the development

work and makes individual components according to the

carmaker’s specifications. What are the properties for the

steering system of a compact car, or a heavy truck? What

sort of suspension does an all-terrain vehicle need, and

how about a luxury limousine? What is demanded of a

crankshaft for a motorcycle engine or a sports car? An-

swers to these questions are available from the sub-

sidiaries of ThyssenKrupp Automotive – and the right com-

ponent, as well.

ACTING SUCCESSFULLY BEHIND THE SCENES

It is the expert work behind the scenes that distinguishes

an automotive supplier – ThyssenKrupp Automotive’s pro-

ducts can be found in numerous products made by all

sorts of manufacturers, from motorcycles to compact cars

and commercial vehicles. And these vehicles are driven on

all continents. Given its all-round expertise, the company

can live well with the idea of working behind the scenes:

because it knows that a successful vehicle is always the

result of a close and trusting relationship between auto-

motive suppliers and manufacturers. For the customer’s

benefit. 7

More than theproduction ofindividual parts

10 ThyssenKrupp Automotivespecializes not only in steel but also in other materials. Some crossrails are made, for instance, fromaluminum – after all, automakers are intensely interested in reducingweight.

11 Looking for a complete car body? ThyssenKrupp Automotive has it, made from steel or aluminum.

12 They play a key role in the transmission of power from the engine to the axles: the ratchet wheels in the transmission.Steel is the material of choice. ThyssenKrupp Automotive produces forged, maximum-precision ratchet wheels.

13 Without them, a trip would be quite bumpy: As a key element of the car chassis, the coil springs make a major contribution to riding comfort.

14 Granted, a car provides individual mobility. But, on the other hand, accidents can happen.That’s why every effort must be made to provide the most safety– for instance with side-impact rails made of maximum-strengthsteel.

15 The power produced by the engine uses the drive shaft toreach the axle and the differentialdistributes it to the wheels. Thebevel gears that perform the task are made by ThyssenKrupp Automotive.

16 Stabilizer bars help reduce the roll of a vehicle as it goes through a curve. One of the innovations created by ThyssenKrupp Automotive is theadjustable stabilizer bar – itguarantees comfort on the highwayand excellent stability on off-roadterrain.

17 A car without a steering wheel – you simply can’t image such a vehicle. The system that directs the wheels in the desired direction is complex and must meet strict safety standards – like the divided steering column.

18 Much more than the individualparts: ThyssenKrupp Automotive frequently serves as a developmentand service partner to automakers,and has extensive know-how in a number of different production processes.

44 ■ INTERVIEW ■

■ INTERVIEW ■ 45

Bold signals for change in GermanyInterview with Ralph Labonte, a member of the Executive Board and labor director at ThyssenKrupp AG

Photos Rainer Kaysers

“Germany needs an innovation-friendly climate that sees change as

an opportunity rather than a threat” – this is how Prof. Dr. Ekkehard

D. Schulz sizes up the current technology debate in Germany. Let’s

assume the climate were to change this way. Do you have your eye on

the types of young people whose knowledge and skills will meet the

demands of ThyssenKrupp?

We are eager to foster even greater enthusiasm for technology and

technical professions among young people. Of course, many German

youths already are planning to take up technical professions, but we

need even more of them to meet our future personnel requirements.

Year after year, we have many top performers enter our technical train-

ing programs. We do our best to keep them on board. At the same time,

our training staff tell us about severe shortcomings in the entry tests

we conduct with young high-school graduates. We have to team up with

schools and tackle these deficits together.

How do you reach technically gifted youths whose skills would meet the

needs of a company like ThyssenKrupp?

I think it is important to publicize the types of issues that are of burning

importance to us. The “Ideenpark” (Ideas Park) in Gelsenkirchen in

September proved that such an event can help mobilize young people

and get them interested in technology. It also provided an opportunity

for highly talented young people to find out about us.

ThyssenKrupp has reached comprehensive agreements with universi-

ties such as the RWTH Aachen, the Ruhr University in Bochum, the

University of Dortmund, the Technical University of Berlin, the Technical

University of Dresden and the Technical University of Hamburg-Har-

burg. Have these technology partnerships shown any tangible results in

regard to the young scientists and technicians at these universities?

We realized three years ago that our image as an attractive employer

was lacking at most universities. This also affected engineering depart-

ments at the schools. This is why we decided to get much more active.

In this context, we have concluded special cooperation agreements with

the universities you mentioned to highlight our partnerships with the

universities and special academic departments. In the course of our

strategic positioning in Asia, we have also set up a partnership with the

Tongij University in Shanghai. We believe that more and more young

engineers from these colleges will work to get a job at ThyssenKrupp.

We will need to be patient, though.

“I think it is important topublicize the types of issues that are of burningimportance to us.”

46 ■ INTERVIEW ■


■ INTERVIEW ■ 47

“We have to act faster”

In the best of circumstances, college students developed their interest

for a particular subject while they were still in secondary school. Yet

Germany’s high schools aren’t exactly known for their ability to awaken

students’ enthusiasm for technology and innovative technological

changes. How do you rate the current situation with regard to the fasci-

nation for technology in German schools?

Different schools certainly display varying degrees of success in foster-

ing a fascination for technology. This depends, among other things, on

their particular orientation and the special commitment of individual

teachers. We have long noticed a particularly strong record at schools

that take part in the annual competition called Jugend Forscht (Youth

Experiments). They often boast a particularly innovation friendly climate

that motivates high-school students to venture onto new terrain. Many

of the competition winners subsequently entered technical professions.

We know that we will have to continue to expand our contact with the

schools in our focus regions over the next 10 years, if only because of

adverse demographic developments. We can already cite numerous

positive examples of successful partnerships between ThyssenKrupp

and certain schools. Here, we generally sponsor those subjects that

lead to a technical profession.

As an expert who has been dealing with technology for more than 30

years, how do you explain why fewer and fewer young people in this

country are taking a professional interest in the fascinating area of

technology?

A careful analysis of data for the past 30 years will show you that

there have been ups and downs, for example in the number of first-time

engineering students as well as cycles in demand for technical appren-

ticeships. This is partly a lagging response to structural crises in key

sectors of the economy and as such cannot be seen as an indication of

decreased interest in technology. Take the ease with which today’s

younger generation deals with state-of-the-art IT. Such young people

were avant-garde in the 1970s. Today, some 10-year-olds know more

about the secrets of the PC than their own fathers. Modern technology

has thus become an everyday issue, and young people show an inter-

est in it.

ThyssenKrupp’s motto is: “Discovering future technology.” Is this a de-

velopment that should be promoted by both the political and business

communities in Germany, partly in the hope of sparking an interest in

technology among young people?

I generally believe that politicians and businesspeople have to jointly

tackle the problems facing our country. We have to act much faster. And

we have to send out bold and unconventional signals for change in our

country. We don’t just want to complain about our situation, but active-

ly support change. We have to show people what needs to be done in

this country if we want to ensure that the next generation will also

survive fierce competition on world markets. Advanced technology is

certainly one aspect, and it simply cannot be achieved without techni-

cally interested and highly educated people. This means we have to

market technical professions even more aggressively.

Do you believe television networks, newspapers and magazines pay

enough attention to the subject of technology or would you welcome a

noticeable increase in information on the part of the media?

A lot of interesting programs exist on this subject, starting with the clas-

sic children’s program, “Die Sendung mit der Maus” (The Show With

the Mouse) and ranging to science programs that have a loyal commu-

nity of followers. Magazines are also very active, but I do see a need for

greater initiative on the part of daily newspapers.

To return to where we started and Prof. Dr. Schulz’s statement: What

are your concrete suggestions for getting young people excited about

technology, and what sort of requirements do you place on their imple-

mentation? Would it make sense to set up a ranking?

We have to advertise technology in schools and make our rich treasure

of experience available to the teachers, for example by sponsoring

schools. And our engineers and all employees in technical professions

have to be prepared to promote technology outside of the company and

throughout all layers of society – as “ambassadors for ThyssenKrupp.”

The interview was conducted by Heribert Klein

“We have to send out bold and unconventional signals for change in our country.”

48 ■ ELEVATORS ■


■ ELEVATORS ■ 49

By Heribert Klein

Elevators – few other parts of buildings exert a similar pull on movie

directors and audiences, as illustrated by feature films like “North

by Northwest” (1959), “The Towering Inferno” (1974), “Abwärts”

(Going Down) (1984) and “You’ve Got Mail” (1998). Moviegoers anx-

iously watched scenes where people happened to find themselves in el-

evators, traveling up or down, standing next to each other in cramped,

closed spaces. What they do, how they talk, what they hope and what

they fear – this is where the sought-after thrill of elevators lies, at least

in the movies. Again and again, movie directors have focused on the

supposed threat emanating from elevators. One disaster after the other

could be watched, one drama after the other inside cabins and shafts

– quite unlike reality.

And yet the elevator principle goes back to antiquity. Once upon

a time, the elevator represented the ultimate solution, as illustrated by

the “Deus ex machina,” the god who was lowered onto the stage to

solve major problems in Greek tragedies in 400 BC. The Greeks used

manually operated elevator systems allowing people to appear as

gods, moved by invisible hands.

WHEN HUMAN STRENGTH OPERATED THE FLYING CHAIR

The principle remained unchanged over the course of several centuries,

and kept some of the major thinkers of humanity, including Aristotle and

Archimedes, busy. More than anybody else, they knew what sort of role

a rope played in lifting or lowering weights – especially when it was at-

tached to a spindle that made it easier to exploit the necessary rope

strengths.

Technology developed continuously in this area. The more com-

fortable palaces and houses became, the more frequently one or the

other occupant would use new technologies – not yet hydraulic or elec-

trical, but intelligently human. The name of France’s Louis XV, for ex-

ample, is associated with an elevator that is still known as the “flying

chair.” Operated manually, it moved up and down between the first and

second floors along the outside wall of the palace.

From Greek tragedy to modern skyscrapersTechnology writes cultural history

Werner von Siemens presented the first electrical elevator in 1880. It traveled upward at a speed of 0.5 meter per second, up to 20 meters. This was a technical masterstroke at the time and quite different from the common practice from 1420, when the lady of the manor carefully lowered her lover to the ground with the help of a hoist.



The year 1852 was a key date in the history of the elevator. In that

year, Elisha Graves Otis invented the first steam power operated eleva-

tor, which was installed in New York just one year later. What the leg-

endary craftsman and employee of a bed feather factory invented in the

early 1850s caused a worldwide sensation. There seemed to be no

more risk of a crash in the elevator shaft because in the worst case the

emergency brake (a platform that would have been wedged by sharply

ground metal spikes just before a crash) would have prevented a fall.

Otis’ remark “All safe, gentlemen, all safe” soon spread around the

world, as did his elevators. Eventually, steam power was replaced

mostly by hydraulic power in electrical or combustion engines.

WHEN FAMOUS POETS DESCRIBED THE ELEVATOR

Authors, too, grasped the fascinating technology. Elevator boys, in par-

ticular, were often the center of attention, featured in literary works from

Thomas Mann to Ringelnatz. Mann, for example, wrote the following

lines in ’Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man’: “Nothing is easier

than to operate an elevator.” Or Ringelnatz in “The Musings of the Ele-

vator Boy”: “When I’m at work, / the machine swishes along / In no time

at all/ from the ground floor to the third.”

Elegant hotels still employ elevator boys who tend to spend more

time carrying luggage, but are still associated with the pushing of ele-

vator buttons. In actual fact, though, their job became superfluous as

early as 1892. Thanks to a patented push-button control system, pas-

sengers could select a floor themselves.

Elevators also had a distinct impact on fundamental cultural atti-

tudes. Well into the first half of the 19th century, the upper stories of

houses and hotels were hardly in demand – except by romantic artists

Paternosters have all but disappeared today. In the past, they inspired many an artist. Lindy Annis, for example, presented “Paternoster II,” a performance in the city hall of Schöneberg in 1992.



such as Spitzweg’s “Poor Poet” who pursued his life’s art under a rid-

dled roof. In reality, of course, he probably lived in similarly poor and

hardly romantic conditions as the many servants whose unheated

chambers with small windows in the truss were a world apart from the

comfortable apartments of the ’masters’ in the Bel Etage.

WHEN HORIZONTAL THINKING BECAME VERTICAL

In the second half of the 19th century, however, the possibilities offered

by elevators altered the architecture of houses and offices. From the

engineer’s perspective, this marked the start of a trend that continues

unabated to this day: the switch from horizontal to vertical thinking.

American architecture, in particular, pioneered future developments.

The first high rises were built on the other side of the Atlantic: The Home

Insurance Building in Chicago (1884), the Tribune Building, the West-

ern Union Building, and in 1913 the Woolworth Building in New York,

the world’s highest building until 1930 with a height of 241 meters.

A new value system emerged as well. From now on, the maxim

was: The higher one’s office is in a building, the more influence one

had. Unlike the past, the company head no longer sat on the same level

with his employees, but higher up, in an office accessible by elevator.

A look at the present shows entirely new elevator issues. Inven-

tions like the famous “paternoster” are all but prohibited (with only a

handful of exceptions). The constantly moving chain of boxes that was

operated in Germany and other countries for several decades and could

be entered on any floor at any time has become outdated. Dr. Murke,

Heinrich Böll’s inventor of collected silence, wrote down his paternoster

experiences 51 years ago. When the cabin switched directions on the

top floor, he was filled with fear for four and a half long seconds. Law-

This wood carving from 1875 (bottom picture) shows an elevator system that was new at the time: the ’Hale Duplex Water Elevator’. About half a century later, in 1936, H.G. Wellsthought up the world of tomorrow, a closed city with special air elevators and special apartments.

All safe, gentlem

en, all safe



makers addressed these fears on Dec. 31, 1994, and officially banned

the paternoster. The days of the open cabin were over.

WHEN TWO CABS IN THE SHAFT MANAGED THE QUANTUM LEAP

In any case, the paternoster could not have met the new requirements

in the highest buildings of the world, such as the Taipei Financial

Center, where immense heights have to be overcome. It is doubtful

whether people in this building can really shoot up at a speed of 16.7

meters per second (and down at 10 meters per second) without any

bodily harm. And the stakes are also raised for safety engineering: from

the fastening technology and the tracks to the roll guides and safety

catches.

ThyssenKrupp Elevator takes a fundamentally different approach

to future challenges. The company’s engineers are guided not only by

maximum desirable speed, but also by efficiency, that is a higher con-

veyor capability at an unchanged number of elevator shafts. The motto

is both simple and revolutionary: “Two cabins. One shaft. A quantum

leap.” Here is a quick sketch of the technology: The two elevators move

up and down in the same guide rails, but each has its own independent

traction sheave. The safety concept follows the operating concept of

state-of-the-art nuclear power plants with four sequences. First, mini-

mum distances between the two cabins are monitored. If the cabins ap-

proach each other too fast, speeds can be reduced. If this is still not

enough, sequence three ensures an automatic emergency stop. The

drives are stopped, and the main brakes activated. If all fails, the catch

mechanism on both cabins is activated (following the principle first

used in the mid-1850s) – a wedge between clasps and the track. Which

leads ThyssenKrupp Elevator to state clearly that “our safety features

leave no chance to chance.”

The other key precondition of this revolutionary principle is just as

comprehensible: Destination selection control, an indispensable part of

From the idea to its implementation: The designs of ThyssenKrupp Elevator engineers can subsequently be seen and used around the world – irrespective of whether it is a cabin in stainless steel design or a dreamy elevator in London’s Austin Reed shopping mall.



TWIN. The rider punches in his or her floor before stepping into the

cabin. The software steering system then chooses the ideal elevator

that will reach the destination fastest.

There is another, less technical aspect: In the future, whoever uses

the elevators in ThyssenKrupp’s Düsseldorf head office (among them four

TWIN elevators) will enjoy entertainment inside, with screens offering

updated information and thus psychologically shortening the travel time.

Advocates of sustainability, too, will welcome this technology be-

cause an increase in elevator capacity is one of the main motivations

behind this invention. TWIN frees one elevator shaft in existing build-

ings for other important uses. For example, air conditioning systems

and cables can be installed in a shaft that is no longer needed for pas-

senger conveyance – thereby reducing the overall construction volume,

extending available useful area and achieving totally new dimensions

of flexibility.

WHEN CAPACITY ROSE AT AN EVEN FASTER RATE

Architects and construction planners feel called upon, and again with

cultural consequences. From a numbers point of view, such a concept

alone would have a huge impact, given an estimated 825 million ele-

vator trips a day in Europe alone. The number of shafts would remain

unchanged, but elevator capacity would rise by up to 30 percent. And,

aside from the hard figures, vertical transport of this type has widely in-

spired architectural artists. In about two years, TWIN can be seen with

fully transparent cabins, as an external glass elevator in Frankfurt’s

Main Triangle. One can already imagine the attraction of standing next

to this elevator and seeing the two cabins move up and down indepen-

dently of each other and approaching each other only to smoothly slow

down at the last minute, as though guided by an invisible hand – a fine

foundation for further cinematic fantasies of future generations of

movie directors. 7

There are hardly any limits to individual cabin design: In Hamburg’s Berliner Bogen office complex just as much as in the Prisma building inFrankfurt/Main or the Norddeutsche Landesbank in Hannover.

Safety w

ithout ifs, ands or buts

54 ■ TITANIUM ■

■ TITANIUM ■ 55

Titanium was long considered an exotic material. But today it can be found wherever low weight has to coincide with maximumhardness and corrosion-resistance – for example in aircraft construction

By Lukas Weber | Illustrations Peter Krämer

The metal of the gods makesthings lighter

The name really was not well chosen. Cronos, the youngest of

the titans, was a clumsy lad who castrated his hated father,

Uranus, and became master of the universe. He stomped around

heavily for a while until he was finally overthrown by his son Zeus after

a 10-year battle. Today’s titanium takes its name from the titans of leg-

end but comes across as light-footed in comparison to its mythological

namesake. It is a high-tech material whose future lies ahead of it. That

is because titanium is on its way to becoming the master of the universe

among metals.

History does not tell us what motivated the German chemist

Martin H. Klaproth to turn to Greek mythology when looking for a name

for the metal oxide he first isolated from the mineral rutile in 1795.

Klaproth could not have guessed at the modern uses of titanium. While

titanium is among the 10 most common elements and titanium dioxide

is inexpensive to produce – it shines out from nearly every white paint:

In cars, building facades, even in the white powder on top of salamis –

the pure form of the metal is extremely difficult to make. It was not until

the middle of the past century that it could be commercially produced.

A RANGE OF REMARKABLE PROPERTIES

But it was worth the wait. The list of advantages offered by the chemi-

cal element with the symbol Ti as a pure metal just goes on and on. Ti-

tanium has the strength of the best steels but weighs only half as much.

It does not corrode, not even in most acids or lyes. Titanium is elastic

and tough, hardly expands in rising temperatures and can withstand

cold without becoming brittle. And important for processing: It can be

rolled, forged and welded.

No wonder that the whole world is calling for this super metal.

“Every two or three years, a new industrial sector is added,” says


56 ■ TITANIUM ■

Higher, faster, farther Helmut M. Jost, sales head at Deutsche Titan (German Titanium) in

Essen, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Stainless GmbH. They produce

300 tons a month of the popular metal in the form of semi-finished

goods for other producers. “The market is growing rapidly,” explains

Jost. Deutsche Titan, established in 1988 as one of the first joint

ventures between Thyssen and Krupp, is working at the limit of its

capacity.

GOOD AND EXPENSIVE

Aren’t there any disadvantages then? “Sure,” says Jost dryly, “the

price.” A kilogram of pure titanium sheet metal costs around 20 dollars.

That is about seven or eight times more expensive than stainless steel

and four times as expensive in terms of half specific weight. As a result,

it is used mainly as a replacement for steel and aluminum where either

Modern jet engines alreadyconsist largely of titanium.Future generations aresupposed to become even more lightweight and powerful.


■ TITANIUM ■ 57

price plays virtually no role or the desired characteristics outweigh the

cost disadvantage.

In medicine, for example. Titanium has been the material of

choice for artificial hips and teeth implants for over 30 years because

the human body can tolerate it like no other material. However, the real

pioneers were the world’s military forces, for whom the astonishing

characteristics of the tough metal were probably just what they had

been looking for for a wide variety of uses. Security technology is one

of the areas that benefited from the military research. Today titanium

can be found in armored cars, bullet-proof vests, and the protective hel-

mets of the elite German GSG 9 commandos.

The fact that titanium is both light and strong is what makes it es-

pecially appealing to aircraft manufacturers. One of the most interest-

ing developments was the SR-71 “Blackbird” reconnaissance aircraft

from Lockheed. As early as the beginning of the 1960s, the outer skin

of this aircraft was made mainly from titanium. With its ability to fly 30

kilometers high and reach speeds reportedly in excess of 3,500 kilo-

meters an hour, the SR-71 set record after record.

START OF SERIAL PRODUCTION

Today, the extensive use of titanium in aircraft in large-scale production

is also common. This has caused global demand to rise. Nearly 3,000

military aircraft are planned around the globe for the next few years,

one-third of them in Europe. Each Eurofighter will contain seven tons of

titanium, while the American C-17A transport plane from Boeing has as

much as 68 tons.

Weight is also a critical factor in commercial aircraft. Every kilo-

gram shaved in construction is another kilogram of cargo or passen-

58 ■ TITANIUM ■

gers that can be flown. That is why Deutsche Titan products have flown

with civilian air and spacecraft for three decades now. They can be

found in the European Ariane rocket, television satellites and space lab-

oratories, and especially in Airbus aircraft. The new Airbus A380 jumbo

jet, which will enter service in 2006, is supposed to have a maximum

takeoff weight of 560 tons - a goal that can only be reached if steel is

widely replaced by titanium. Around 75 tons will be used. The older but

smaller Airbus A340 contains only 22 tons of titanium. The trend has

been similar at Airbus’s competitor Boeing. Boeing’s popular 777

model from the year 1990 uses 58 tons of titanium. The new 7E7,

which is supposed to enter service in 2007, contains 10 tons less, but

titanium makes up a higher percentage than steel and represents 15

percent of the total weight. Experts have no doubt that the use of tita-

nium will continue to grow while that of steel and aluminum falls. How-

ever, the aluminum outer skin will probably not be replaced by titanium

in the future. “Too expensive and not necessary,” says Airbus Industries.

The list of parts made out of titanium alloys is long. In addition to

engine components and their suspensions, there are hydraulic lines,

door fittings, rivets, and screws. Soon, passengers will have the strong

metal directly under them too. Lufthansa is installing new recliner seats

in its Airbus 340-600 fleet. Thanks to the generous use of titanium, the

Lufthansa-built seats are expected to be 20 percent lighter than com-

parable seats in competitors’ aircraft. Other typical uses include forged

landing gear parts, wing leading edges, fire bulkheads and parts of the

brake system. For every use, there is an alloy which makes the charac-

teristics of titanium, such as strength or resistance to corrosion, even

better. “The workhorse of our high-quality alloys consists of 90 percent

titanium with 6 percent aluminum and 4 percent vanadium,” explains

Jost. Other ingredients include molybdenum, zirconium and palladium.

ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS IN THE OFFING

Unalloyed titanium is produced in all semi-finished forms. From open

die forging parts to thin sheets, from which, for example, ventilation

pipes for aircraft or cooling pipes for nuclear power plants are made.

Thirty different types are produced in Essen, using different qualities of

the raw material, called titanium sponge. The precise amount to the

gram of additives is mixed in automatically, before being pressed under

2,500 tons of pressure into a block and then welded to the electrode

Harder, lighter, tougher

■ TITANIUM ■ 59

and melted in a high vacuum oven. While the importance of titanium for

the aerospace industry has increased, the importance of the aerospace

industry has decreased for titanium. After the shock of September 11,

2001, the aerospace industry went into a tailspin that it is just now

starting to come out of. Annual global consumption of titanium, which

reached 60,000 tons in 1997, melted as a result. This year it will likely

bounce back to 50,000 tons. Deutsche Titan has ended its former de-

pendence on the aerospace industry. Now just barely a quarter of its

sales come from this sector.

There are enough applications for titanium. For example, in build-

ings. The steel bridge piles of the Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway received an

insoluble metal plating attached to the steel, the same is true for the

first floating airport on Tokyo bay. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao,

Spain, is clad in a titanium cover. On oil drilling platforms it is used for

pipelines, heat exchangers, and rising pipes. Sports equipment makers

have long appreciated titanium alloys for making golf clubs, bicycle

frames or yacht equipment, and they are the perfect material for spikes.

The human body’s high tolerance of titanium makes it not only useful

for medicine but also for the watch and jewelry industry.

Desalination plants will become very important in the near future.

Large ones cannot do without titanium and water consumption in the

Arabian and southern Mediterranean regions is growing exponentially.

The automobile industry, which is highly interested in saving weight, is

also waiting in the wings. However, up until now it has limited its use of

titanium to small parts which have to withstand high pressure.

NOBLE RACE CARS MADE OF NOBLE MATERIALS

So far, only very expensive, exotic car makers such as Bugatti or Ferrari

have made extensive use of titanium. Rumor has it that Formula 1 racing

cars from Maranello contain more titanium than any of their competitors’

cars have in their rear-view mirrors. And now, the divine origin of the el-

ement’s name has finally found modern day confirmation: The valuable

head of race car titan Michael Schumacher is protected by a one-piece

helmet costing 12,000 euros, designed and produced by the Schuberth

helmet factory in Braunschweig, Germany. The helmet is made out of a

carbon fiber-kevlar combination stiffened by titanium loops. It is so

strong that the helmet of the German auto racing titan could even

survive being rolled over by a tank. 7

High-strength materials needed:Lighter blades sit on thinnershafts – the weight reductioncontinues.

60 ■ CONTROLS ■


■ CONTROLS ■ 61

By Sybille Wilhelm | Photos Frank Elschner

There are days when simply everything appears to have conspired

against you. Then you are sprinting into the elevator at the last

minute, only to find out that of course, now of all times when you

are in a hurry, it is full to bursting point. And of course, on a day like this,

the car also stops at every floor to let people get in or out, or also be-

cause someone had called the elevator but is now already on their way

in another car. Maybe the only advantage is that in this way you have

enough time to think up an excuse for being late.

However, the engineers at ThyssenKrupp Elevator evidently have

a soft spot for people in a hurry. They picked up the idea of so-called

destination selection control (DSC) and developed a generation of ele-

vators that think for themselves. Thus a computer calculates the ideal

route for every passenger in a matter of seconds and allocates the most

suitable elevator to him. Now people who belong together travel to-

gether, such that only passengers with a matching “journey profile”

share an elevator car.

“The basic idea was to optimize traffic flows and markedly reduce

the time it takes to get to a destination,” explains Dr. Rembert

Horstmann, head of the Central Communication and Marketing Division

at ThyssenKrupp Elevator in Düsseldorf. The results show that they

succeeded. “The individual passenger saves around 30 percent of the

time required to travel using conventional elevator systems,” he says.

Up to now, an elevator has always stubbornly stopped wherever an

elevator had been called – and only because it was going in the right

direction. The control electronics on a conventional lift are unable to

gauge whether this makes sense logistically or not.

If several people want to take an elevator at the same time, this

can often lead to long lines forming in front of the elevators – for exam-

ple at peak times in office buildings. It can also lead to overfilled eleva-

tor cars, because even when an elevator is already full it will always stop

if someone has called an elevator.

NO MORE QUEUES OUTSIDE ELEVATORS

On the other hand, using DSC, the computer manages the logistical

puzzle and assigns special tasks to the individual elevator cars. While a

full elevator will travel past undisturbed in a manner that would be ap-

propriate if it had to go somewhere else completely at this time, the

computer in its role of “elevator manager” sends another one by to pick

up the passengers.

Destination selection control is also ideal for special tasks. It is all

a question of programming – and a certain code that can be distributed

among users. Thus for example a wheelchair user can call a wider ele-

The destination is the goal

In destination selection control, travelers indicate their destination at a central terminal. The computer then shows them the fastest route.

The elevator thinks for itself thanks to destination selectioncontrol. This shortens travel time and gives the passenger morespace in the car.


62 ■ CONTROLS ■

vator, only authorized employees can travel to the executive suite, or the

bicycle courier can be conducted to the floor where he actually has to go.

What is missing is the most obvious difference to a conventional

elevator and probably also the one that is most difficult to get used to,

for elevators with DSC have no buttons in the elevator car any more.

Passengers will find the only control panel in a central location – gener-

ally in the hallway on each floor. Here, the passenger enters the desired

floor number onto a screen and, if necessary, an individual code. Once

he has defined his destination on this so-called touchscreen, the com-

puter selects the optimal elevator for the passenger and informs him

about how long he will have to wait. In addition, the display also shows

which elevator has been chosen for him and even the location of the el-

evator door. Gone too are the times when people had to search in dis-

orientation for the light, because the acoustic signal had announced the

presence of an elevator.

ORIENTATION MADE EASY

Intelligent control only became practicable when today’s touchscreen

technology was available and functioned reliably. “It would not work

without the touchscreens,” says Rembert Horstmann. “They gave the

new system the breakthrough.” Around 20 years ago, the first destina-

tion selection control system was installed by a competitor. However,

the push buttons of the time only caused confusion, because problems

arose with two-digit combinations when entering numbers like on a

television’s remote control. When the numbers were not pressed in suf-

ficiently quick succession, a completely different floor resulted than the

one desired.

Incidentally, the touch-sensitive monitors are also more hygienic

because they are easy to wipe clean. Moreover, because they do not

react to heat, but to light pressure, unlike for example the automatic

door openers on suburban trains, the passenger does not even have to

take off his gloves to operate the destination selection control system.

Certainly, there are buttons that can set off an alarm in most of the

around 50 DSC systems that ThyssenKrupp Elevator has installed

worldwide. Yet these have mainly been fitted for psychological reasons.

They are no longer necessary, however, for a passenger in a DSC-con-

trolled elevator is actually in even better hands than in a conventional

elevator car. “If something goes wrong with the elevator, the computer

reacts faster than any passenger could,” Rembert Horstmann reas-

sures the more worrisome among us. Moreover, if someone is unable

to press the alarm button in an emergency, the surveillance system

nonetheless notices that something is wrong.

The ultra-modern destination selection control can actually be

installed wherever there are elevators in use – and not only in new build-


■ CONTROLS ■ 63

Into the future without buttons

ings. “Every time a building is modernized, we recommend installing

a DSC system,” says Rembert Horstmann with conviction. “Especially

if waiting for long periods in front of the elevators is the order of the

day in this building.” This can happen quicker than you might think, for

elevator use changes in many buildings over the years. For example,

if several different companies suddenly have to share the building

instead of the original sole tenant or if the number of users at a univer-

sity rises from 500 to 2,000, then the elevator system has to do other

jobs too.

In this respect, the elevator engineers at ThyssenKrupp do not

care who manufactured the elevators in the first place. “With the ex-

pertise and resources of our customer engineering centers across the

world we can service almost all manufacturers’ elevator systems,” says

Rembert Horstmann. “Therefore, we can also modernize them and fit

them with a DSC system without any difficulty.”

In office buildings, the intelligent control can even help raise em-

ployee productivity. For if every employee every day is even sitting only

one minute earlier at his desk than heretofore, for example, because he

neither has to wait for the elevator nor stop too often on the way, this

can add up to a considerable amount of working time gained for the

employer over the course of a year. On the other hand, the intelligent lift

constitutes a gain in service in hotels. For example, the access code for

the hotel room can be matched up to the code for the elevator so that

the hotel guest can be conducted immediately to the right floor. “Then

the elevator would be so easy to operate that even the night owls in Las

Vegas would have no problem finding their way back to their rooms,” is

one example given by Rembert Horstmann.

THE FASTER ROUTE TO THE WORKPLACE

The elevator expert himself had bad experiences with the alternative of

fitting card readers for special access rights in elevators. “If you get in

and you are the third person to swipe their card through the machine,

you could have long passed the floor you wanted before being able to

press the desired button. And taking the elevator back is time-consum-

ing too.”

However, ThyssenKrupp’s DSC system has not just accelerated

elevator transportation, but also helped the “TWIN elevators,” a revolu-

tionary idea in elevator technology that is around 70 years old, to

achieve a breakthrough. In “TWIN” technology, two independent eleva-

tor cars share one shaft. Up to now, this space-saving solution was

considered to be impossible because the necessary controls were lack-

ing. Now, however, the sophisticated DSC is the perfect safety solution

that has allowed this utopia to finally become reality – and thereby also

helped to achieve a quantum leap in elevator technology. 7

Earlier attempts to introduce intelligent controls failed in the face of service friendliness. Only touchscreens made destination selection control practicable.

64 ■ INNOVATION MANAGEMENT ■


■ INNOVATION MANAGEMENT ■ 65

By Felix Unverzagt | Photos Thomas Rabsch and Rainer Kaysers

Uniting technology and businessInnovation management at ThyssenKrupp

People who today combine the concepts “innovation” and “management” clear-

ly understand that in a globally active corporation research and development

must be linked up with the strategies of company divisions. Innovation, a con-

cept that is a little too worn-out and not always correctly understood, means creating

something anew, altering something, finding a new connection between things or a

new way of using something. Joseph Schumpeter, an early 20th century Austrian

economist, traces the word innovation back to its Latin origins in his book “Theory of

Innovation:” It means just as much as recreating something, whether in a new con-

text or a new product, as much as it bears the status of a novelty. Because of this, he

concludes, innovation means the implementation of a technical and organizational im-

provement.

“To be at the forefront of technical advancement through innovation,” that’s the

clear aim of ThyssenKrupp AG’s Chairman of the Executive Board. Not even a year

ago, during the financial press conference in Essen’s Villa Hügel, Prof. Dr. Ekkehard

D. Schulz spoke about the way the Group understands the concept of innovation.

Drawing on a concrete example, the Chairman mentioned the Dortmunder Ober-

flächenCentrum (DOC), a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Stahl. It’s at the DOC that “we’ve

bundled all research and development activities regarding surface finishing of high-

grade steel since 2000. It’s considered one of the world’s leading research centers in

this field.”

SURFACE ENGINEERING: PROFESSIONALS IN MATTER

Innovation today is lived through those who think for example about how the corrosion

protection of sheet metal can be improved further, the surface made more resistant to

environmental impact or how the process of laser welding can be simplified. That’s the

objective of the DOC – undeniably one of the most successful examples of innovation

management within the ThyssenKrupp Group.

DOC is a child of the ThyssenKrupp Group, which was formed in 1999 through the

The new generation is approaching: The Dortmunder OberflächenCentrum (DOC) is located on the site of the Dortmund Westfalenhütten steel mills, a historical site. This is where the Hoesch iron andsteelworks were established as a general partnership in September 1871. It is managed by Dr. Michael Steinhorst (left).


66 ■ INNOVATION MANAGEMENT ■

merger of the Thyssen and Krupp companies. “Here, the various research and devel-

opment locations involved with surface finishing technologies belonging to Thyssen

Krupp Steel were combined and extended,” Dr. Michael Steinhorst, the manager of

DOC, a limited liability corporation, says not without a touch of pride.

But that isn’t everything. Within the framework of a “Public Private Partnership,”

some application-oriented institutes belonging to the Fraunhofer research society

were integrated into the venture. In addition, the renowned plant contractor SMS-

Demag is also part of DOC as an industrial partner and minority shareholder. The aim

of this mostly project-based cooperation is to develop innovative surface technology

processes, such as the advanced anticorrosive “Zinc Magnesium” (Ze-Mg) for exam-

ple, as well as the steel-based photovoltaic systems technique that is used by

ThyssenKrupp Steel in Duisburg-Beeck.

DOC ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN INDUSTRIAL IMPLEMENTATION

The Group claim, “Developing the future” has been shown with success at DOC.

Dr. Hans-Joachim Krautwald, head of directorate “Improvement Processes” at Thyssen

Krupp Stahl AG, can rightly say: “The steel sector is a highly innovative industry. That’s

why the competitiveness of a company depends increasingly on its innovative capac-

ity.” In the end, this means that innovation lives from the ideas of staff. That’s why

everyone at ThyssenKrupp agrees that innovation belongs to all divisions and parts of

the Group.

DOC’s 76 employees, which despite the high technical demands include five ap-

prentices, draw on the most advanced technology in their search for innovations. One

of the most modern pilot rolling mills in the world is located here; the cooperation part-

ner Fraunhofer Society assists with the latest laser, plasma and thin-film technology.

In short: All technologies that exist in the area of coating and surface finishing can be

visualized and understood in the halls of the research center. Research in Dortmund,

however, is not confined to the isolation of the ivory tower – quite the contrary. Once

Innovation means the transformation of knowledge

again, the word that is most often connected with the con-

cept “innovation” comes to the fore: innovation manage-

ment. DOC manager Michael Steinhorst knows what he’s

talking about. “We accompany the surface processing

technologies that we develop until they are ready for pro-

duction. DOC is also actively involved during the subse-

quent industrial implementation.”

Such developments show once again that

ThyssenKrupp’s “Adventure Future” can be mastered

with the Group principles “Accepting Challenges – Gaining

Prospects.” Understandably, there is an economic objec-

tive behind this: “Research is the transformation of money

into knowledge – innovation is the transformation of

knowledge into money.” In other words: Knowledge is

made useable at ThyssenKrupp through annual innova-

tion competitions, which honor the most innovative and

best projects with awards. This makes one thing clear:

Knowledge is an integral part of the entire Group. Tapping

into knowledge strategically, extending it and finally using

it successfully across the Group is an important compo-

nent of doing business everywhere in the world.

ThyssenKrupp’s understanding of the concept of

“innovation management” has long included practical

measures, as illustrated by the company’s long and in-

tensive contact with the automotive sector. “The early

involvement in development processes is especially es-

sential when it comes to automotive supply,” says Dr.

Peter Dahlmann, who manages Corporate Technology at

Staff at the DOC can turn to the most moderntechnology in their search for innovation. All tech-nologies which exist in thefield of surface coating can be viewed and under-stood in the halls of theresearch center.

■ INNOVATION MANAGEMENT ■ 67

68 ■ INNOVATIONSMANAGEMENT ■


■ INNOVATIONSMANAGEMENT ■ 69

ing an overview of the research activities mentioned by Peter Dahlmann. In addition,

a permanent committee has been installed, of which Group Chairman Prof. Dr. Ekke-

hard D. Schulz is a member. What is the role of this committee? To recognize early

which new technologies could be of strategic future importance.

WIDE-RANGING COMPLEXITY IS PART AND PARCEL OF INNOVATION

Dahlmann’s listing of some of these topics sounds like a small intellectual trip to

California’s Silicon Valley: “Fuel cells, magnesium as a material in automobile

construction, nanotechnology, hybrid engines.” In order to motivate staff members

who are far away from sunny California to such innovative ideas, an innovation prize

is awarded with prize money of a total of €70,000. Rewarded are services as well as

finishing technologies and products that must meet the jury’s strict criteria catalogue

(customer benefits, customer loyalty, cost savings, degree of innovation, market

potential).

In the past few years, the so-called TWIN elevator with two interdependent inde-

pendently driven cabins that are arranged one on top of the other in one elevator shaft

was one concept that was awarded with the prize. For it is not simply a gimmick – the

technology saves times as well as energy and construction volume.

Is the innovator, to turn once more to Joseph Schumpeter’s theory, not then a

kind of “creative entrepreneur” who even possibly engages in “creative destruction”

in order to achieve higher productivity? That might have been the case, especially in

Schumpeter’s time. But what today belongs at the core of innovation is its broad,

wide-ranging complexity, which binds together totally different levels and only

through the successful management of new innovations leads where everyone

wants it to lead: To progress with demanding new compositions of industrial products

and services. 7

ThyssenKrupp’s Corporate Center – which he succinctly

describes as the innovation nerve center. The advantage

of thinking ahead and then implementing those thought

processes in practice is becoming increasingly clear, es-

pecially in the automotive sector. Says Peter Dahlmann:

“After all, around 80 percent of the costs are determined

60 months before the production of a new vehicle com-

mences. We must be, and we want to be, an R&D partner

for our customers at all stages.”

Effortlessly, Dahlmann reels off the most important

numbers for the research activities of his employer. “In the

last business year, €629 million was invested in R&D.

Including quality assurance, around 3,000 workers are

entrusted with the relevant R&D tasks. We have 45 own

development centers and work on around 2,000 projects.”

Is that the core of innovation management at

ThyssenKrupp? The prime goal of those active in promot-

ing innovation management is to gather as many ideas as

possible from staff members. Efficient assessment

processes determine to what extent the innovations will

be used in the end. These processes calculate productiv-

ity and thus provide the foundation for knowing what will

be pursued further and what will already be rejected in the

planning phase.

To refer again to the present: Corporate Technology

division is, among other things, responsible for maintain-

Innovation nerve center

“Here, the various research anddevelopment locations involved with surface finishing technologieswere combined and extended,” Dr. Michael Steinhorst, the manager of DOC, says not without a touch of pride.

70 ■ E-ESCALATOR ■


■ E-ESCALATOR ■ 71

In the traditional city, all subway stations will soon be equipped with ThyssenKrupp’s patented e-escalator system. Here, the high-tech escalator inde-pendently sends messages to the monitoring center.

By Sybille Wilhelm | Photos Bernd Jonkmanns

A staircase with a net and a double bottom

Munich has Germany’s mostintelligent escalators. The electronically connectedequipment not only automatically signals any problems, but also indicatesthe type of replacement partsthat the service technicianshould bring along.



Drive toward modernity Climbing steps is good for your health. But it’s frustrating when

you have to do it. After a hard day’s work, for example, it’s hard

to find anything good about a broken escalator. You really only

have one thing on your mind: Getting home as quickly and comfortably

as possible.

ThyssenKrupp, one of the leading manufacturers of escalators,

also dislikes standing still. Literally: The new generation of “moving

staircases,” an invention created over 100 years ago, is intelligent and

communicative. When a system is equipped with ThyssenKrupp’s

patented e-escalator system, it sends messages via the Internet, Intra-

net or SMS to the appropriate monitoring center or service team. And

the system not only delivers a message to indicate if the escalator is not

working, but also exactly where the problem lies: For instance that

something isn’t working on the top left of the handrail, the declining

steps are having problems in the middle or the so-called comb plate on

the bottom left needs to be repaired.

REMOTE DIAGNOSIS SAVES TIME AND HASSLE

An error message per remote diagnosis saves a lot of time and hassle.

“The service technician saves at least one trip,” says Markus Reh-

kaemper, Director of the Service Sales department at ThyssenKrupp

Escalator in Hamburg. The first thing an expert has done up to now is

to go to the defective escalator and check out what is wrong. The search

can be time consuming when it doesn’t involve the typically problematic

spots. When the technician locates the defect, then he usually has to

take another trip to get the right replacement part. All things consid-

ered, it’s a very complex procedure with two decisive disadvantages: It

costs time and money.

E-escalators could be called the modern elves of escalators

because they can do so much more than “just” report the exact mal-

function. “Customer service is also improved,” explains Markus Reh-

kaemper. “It becomes more effective and transparent.” The “thinking”

When escalators becomecommunicative: The serviceteam of Munich’s local transport company knows when something is wrong withits escalators. This saves theelectrician at least one trip.


Controlled movementWhen the railroad station isn’t busy, the escalators don’t have to move as fast as during peak hours. The new e-escalator system suppliesdetailed data on the use ofindividual escalators. Operators can thus brace for possible onslaughts.



Rather than a screwdriver, the service technician now uses a computer. This showshim what’s been going on around the escalator.

systems register the escalator’s status in more detail than was ever

possible. As a result, servicing can be planned much better than before.

The collected data from in-motion and standing periods enable the es-

calator’s operator to make statistical evaluations easily. And this infor-

mation is very valuable for the manufacturer. The gained insight builds

a foundation for further product improvements for the next generation.

Anyone who wants to ride such a modern escalator needs to head

to the Munich underground. The public transportation authorities there

are currently equipping the subway stations, which have been in oper-

ation since the 1972 Olympics, with the intelligent technology. After a

year-long project development, all 724 escalators of Munich’s public

transportation system are being linked one after the other.

RELIABLE EVEN IN EMERGENCIES

Those responsible for the subway stations all share one clearly defined

goal: The escalators must function dependably. If, for example, all the

escalators stopped functioning in a busy subway station, then the trains

would temporarily stop halting at the station because in the case of an

emergency not everyone could be evacuated quickly enough. After all,

an escalator moves up to 9,000 people an hour.

The principle of linking up of the e-escalators is always the same,

but Munich’s public transportation authorities are taking a special path

as far as the details are concerned. “The escalators in Munich are pret-

ty special,” confirms Manfred Struwe, Director of Construction E-Tech-

nology at ThyssenKrupp Escalators. “We’ve designed the project in

close cooperation with the city’s construction authority and public utili-

ty officials based on the needs there.” One difference, for example,

comes from the fact that the public transportation authorities chose the

Intranet and not the Internet as the technical platform. It sounds very

similar indeed, but it is only almost the same: The Bavarians wanted to

eliminate the risk that someone could intrude into the monitoring cen-

ter’s network by choosing the internal system that is totally insulated

from the outside world. “But also an Internet-based monitoring system

can be insulated in such a way that nobody can intrude,” Manfred

Struwe is convinced. The people in Munich are also operating the intel-

ligent escalators on their own. The state capital’s public transportation

Escalators are long-distance runners



employees keep an eye on the system’s movability from the trans-

portation headquarters.

Worth noting though is that the escalators themselves are actual-

ly considered very robust. The “inner life” of a well-maintained escala-

tor can far surpass the age of 20 and the visible parts such as the stairs

can last notably longer. It is actually the fault of a few individuals that

gives passengers the feeling that escalators continually break down de-

spite the most modern technology: Vandalism is responsible for most

breakdowns of moving staircases.

SERVICE FROM A DISTANCE

The intelligent escalators will soon be able to save a lot of time in cases

when the temporary halt is deliberately caused: “In the future it will be

possible with the help of the Internet, or rather Internet technology, to

operate them by remote control,” says Markus Rehkaemper. In cases

where an emergency alarm was actually a false alarm and a confirma-

tion is received that nobody is riding the escalator, then no one has to

take an extra trip to turn the system on again. To guarantee that there

are no passengers actually on the escalator who could be injured by the

sudden start, video cameras could be used to verify the status and

loudspeakers could issue a warning. The disadvantage of monitoring

with the inexpensive and easily integrated Internet cameras, the so-

called Webcams, admittedly lies in the fact that the pictures are

presently transmitted via Internet with a slight delay. It is an absolute

necessity that the pictures arrive at the headquarters in “real time.”

Munich’s public transportation authorities can already operate the

escalators by remote control – and without video cameras. Security

sensory technology inside the escalator can scan all the stairs with the

sweep of a beam of light to check whether there are any users on the

escalator. When the “go ahead” is given, the Bavarians can operate the

system by remote control.

Such remote-controlled escalators can also save the multiple trips

that are the daily norm in empty department stores for example. Up

until now the janitor had to turn on every escalator by hand in the morn-

ing and off in the evening. Remote control in fact only further develops

what operators have wanted since the beginning of escalators: To have

moving staircases that transport customers comfortably and securely,

but that simultaneously require as few personnel for their operation as

possible. In 1898 things were much different: “When the first escalators

were up and running in the London department store Harrods, an em-

ployee stood at the end,” tells Markus Rehkaemper. “He had to resus-

citate the customers with smelling salts and brandy.” 7

State-of-the-art all around: The escalators in Munich are not only top-notch from theoutside. Their inside, too, hasarrived in the 21st century.

A “seeing” escalator


80 ■ ZINC MAGNESIUM ■

The matte grey film on the sheet of steel looks inconspicuous. But

it has something: Namely magnesium, which effectively comple-

ments the usual layer of zinc. That is because sheets of steel coat-

ed with a zinc magnesium layer are, depending on the thickness of the

coating, either better protected against corrosion or can be more easi-

ly welded using laser welding techniques. The new sheet steel coating

was developed at the Dortmund Surface Engineering Center, known as

DOC by its German initials. DOC is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Steel

and employs 76 people engaged in developing new coatings and lay-

ers for sheet steel.

Cars of the future should be even cheaper for consumers to drive.

To do this, cars must lose weight. This can be achieved in several ways.

At the top of the list are modern steel materials which provide great

strength without being thick. For example, high strength sheet steel is

processed into light but extremely stable hollow sections which are

used to produce entire car bodies. ThyssenKrupp Steel’s NewSteel-

Body created a sensation at the 2003 International Motor Show in

Frankfurt. But this virtuoso performance in steel also requires other pro-

cessing techniques such as laser welding. This allows even very thin

sheets to be joined together with great precision without any welding

seams. The bundled light rays, with their high energy, melt the sheets

together very accurately.

But a problem arose. While it is true that the protective layer on

galvanized steel, which most steel car bodies are made out of today,

has made rusty death a relic of the past for cars, at the same time, zinc

can cause tiny craters (called “ejection craters” by experts) along the

welded seam during the laser welding process if the zinc vaporized in

the melting is not able to escape. Production engineers know how to

prevent this undesirable side effect. They leave a tiny 0.05 millimeter

wide gap between the two pieces which are to be welded together for

the zinc vapor to escape through. However, the tolerance is very close.

If the gap is too narrow, craters will be created. If the space is 0.25 mil-

Steel sheets are oftenprocessed with a coating.A small magnesiumcontent makes it easier to weld the material with a laser.


■ ZINC MAGNESIUM ■ 81

limeters wide or more, the weld will not hold under stress. So, the gap

must be 0.05 millimeters wide. If you try to simulate this tiny distance

between two pieces of paper, it seems to be absolutely impossible.

Complicated sensors and stabilizing technology help during the car

body production process, but they also make production expensive.

A NEW PRODUCT FAMILY IS BORN

DOC felt called as a problem solver in this case. The Center, with its

great expertise, has declared the coating and treating of sheet steel to

be an area of specialty. In its perfectly equipped laboratories, techni-

cians dedicated themselves to the question of modifying the zinc coat-

ing. “Magnesium as an ingredient in the alloy came out as the answer,”

says Dr. Ing. Michael Steinhorst, DOC’s Managing Director, thereby

summing up in a few words a protracted process. The results were so

promising that DOC immediately created a whole family of products

with the rather cryptic sounding, but for experts in the field clear, name

of ZE-Mg. The thickness of the zinc magnesium layer considerably

affects the properties of the treated sheet steel.

Basically, it makes the metal more resistant to corrosion, but the

new coating only needs to be half as thick as the pure zinc layer com-

monly applied now to produce the same amount of corrosion protec-

tion. That means that it only has to be about three micrometers thick.

Or, the layer can be just as thick as the current layer is, that is, around

7.5 micrometers thick, and produce a multiple increase in corrosion

protection. What wonderful flexibility!

Manufacturers are rubbing their hands. A thinner layer means that

the sheet steel can be processed more easily and this can be used to

reduce weight. Or, the increase in corrosion protection can be used to

produce products with an even longer life.

The automobile industry is especially interested in the ZE-Mg

family. Less zinc means that less zinc vapor is produced by laser welding.

The little vapor that is still produced can escape through the so-called

A film makes the difference

The Dortmunder OberflächenCentrum(Dortmund Surface EngineeringCenter, DOC) has developed a surface coating for sheet steel that makes laser welding easier and improves corrosion protection.

By Rüdiger Abele | Photos Michael Wissing

82 ■ ZINC MAGNESIUM ■

vapor capillary: a small cavity resulting from the vapor pressure which

occurs when the laser cuts into the metal. This drastically reduces

the number of ejection craters and in the best case, it eliminates them

altogether.

Automobile manufacturers will no longer have to ensure that the

exact distance of 0.05 millimeters is maintained. Sheet steel which has

been treated on the surface with a zinc magnesium layer can even be

welded together when overlapped. This means that the entire compli-

cated stabilizing technology and sensors which checked the welding

seams and recognized errors can be simplified. This, in turn, results in

noticeable savings in euro and cents, something that mass producing

manufacturers always appreciate. And there are even more cost sav-

ings. Because the seams are flawless, the costs for finishing work can

be eliminated. The welds do not have to be sealed to make them air and

watertight so that they are also protected against corrosion.

What if you keep the same thickness for the coating in order

to enjoy better corrosion protection? You still have cost savings. Up to

now, the welded pieces have undergone what is called “secondary

corrosion protection measures” after being welded in order to give rust

no chance. This means that the welded seams are closed up and

cavities are sealed with a layer of paint or wax. With the zinc magnesium

coating, this step can now be eliminated.

The story gets really exciting when ZE-Mg is combined with an

organic thin film layer. The whole thing is so corrosion resistant (and

ready to be welded without any further treatment) that the cathodic dip

painting which modern car bodies still have to go through now in the

factory can be eliminated in the future. The automobile producer can

cut out this production step and directly order pre-treated sheet steel

from the supplier for his sleek car bodies.

INITIAL SHEETS ALREADY BEING TESTED BY CUSTOMERS

If you consider all of its characteristics, ZE-Mg appears to be a real

winner. Right? “That’s right,” says Steinhorst. “Customers have shown

immense interest and now we are working very closely with them to

bring the coating into mass production manufacturing.” Car body parts

made from sheet steel treated with the zinc magnesium coating are

From the laboratory toserial production


■ ZINC MAGNESIUM ■ 83

The new coating improves corrosion resistance. Depending on the thickness of the coating, it takes twice as long until the material reaches the darkest shade.

already used in a test vehicle of a German car manufacturer. The vehi-

cle is currently being driven on relentless test tracks where the treated

steel will have to show that it can stand up to daily demands. Other pro-

totypes will follow. “But it will take at least until 2006 before we see the

new coating in mass produced products,” says Steinhorst. It takes that

long for such a fundamental change in production methods.

The development of ZE-Mg at DOC took place not only in the labor-

atory. “We not only deliver the idea, but also show that it works,” says

Steinhorst. To do that, a complete coating facility was built. For testing

purposes, sheet steel up to “just” 30 centimeters wide is treated so that

it is slightly smaller overall than a real production facility, but at 76 me-

ters long it still fills a good-sized hall. At one end, galvanized sheet steel

rolls directly off the “coil,” as the thick, up to four-tons heavy rolls of

steel that come from the rolling mill are called. At the other end, the

steel comes out almost magically with the light grey, velvety coating.

The zinc magnesium layer is applied in a continuous rolling process that

is very clever. The steel moves into a vacuum chamber at a speed of 60

meters per second, or about 17 kilometers per hour. There the metal

alloy waits in a crucible heated from 450 to 800 degrees Celsius where

it is vaporized and then applied thinly but evenly over the entire surface.

“We can reach temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius in this

facility,” explains Steinhorst, “which is hot enough to even vaporize

titanium” – perhaps to create another completely new combination of

materials. In chambers that come afterwards, other layers can be ap-

plied according to the developers’ or customers’ wishes. Finally, the

steel moves into an induction furnace where the coating is firmly set,

then it is cooled off and rolled up again. Then it is ready to be used.

VICTORIES WITH TOMORROW’S PRODUCTS

“Now we just have to integrate the zinc magnesium coating facility into

a large sheet steel production site,” says Steinhorst. The way he stress-

es “just” indicates that this is the major challenge. However, with the

know-how from DOC, the appropriate departments at ThyssenKrupp

Steel and production, this can be mastered. After that, nothing else

stands in the way of the triumph of the ZE-Mg family – for example, in

the car of tomorrow. 7


84 ■ UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES ■

Patrick Luig has to spell out the word: Z – h – o – n – g – s – h – a – n.

“It’s actually really easy,” he says then, with only a touch of irony.

Really easy? The mechanical engineering student from Bochum

has no trouble pronouncing the name of the southern Chinese city,

located in the Guangdong province near Hong Kong and Macao,

because he spent 10 weeks there. That helps when it comes to gaining

a sense of orientation and spelling Chinese words. But such benefits

weren’t the main reason that the German student swapped the lecture

hall for a Chinese shop floor. The factory wasn’t actually all that

Chinese. Rather, it is actually Chinese-German, because it, or at least

its monetary value, can be found on the balance sheet of a Düsseldorf

company. And that’s why Luig went to China and the city with the

name that is supposed to be so easy to spell. Luig had received a

scholarship of 500 euros per semester as a reward for having the best

first diploma – and he later secured another benefit with the help of

ThyssenKrupp: The stay in China, in Zhongshan, at ThyssenKrupp

Elevator, a ThyssenKrupp subsidiary with which Luig’s university in

Bochum set up a cooperation agreement two years ago.

Why do companies support ambitious young people like Luig?

“The broader the horizon, the better the opportunities,” says Alfred

Wewers, a Group representative for ThyssenKrupp in China. In-depth

technical know-how in a person’s particular subject area and business

skills alone do not guarantee success, he says. The ability to think

creatively and the willingness to cross borders are just as important.

With karaoke to success ThyssenKrupp’s university activities

By Carsten Knop | Photos Thomas Rabsch

Demand for experts isn’tnegligible: When Patrick Luiggraduates from BochumUniversity, he stands a goodchance of beginning his careerat ThyssenKrupp


■ UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES ■ 85


86 ■ UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES ■

Leading German technical experts say that innovation and creativity are

the keys to Germany’s competitiveness. It is all the more important,

then, to have young, future-oriented people like Patrick Luig.

HELPING DEVELOP COMPLEX TECHNOLOGIES

Let’s return to the young ’China expert’ for a moment: “His China sto-

ries are something. Just ask him about his karaoke experience,” says

Kerstin Ney, who coordinates ThyssenKrupp’s cooperation with the uni-

versity in the Ruhr region. Karaoke? “We sang ’Take Me Home, Coun-

try Road’ and all sorts of tearjerkers,” Luig recalls. The 25-year-old

Bochum native, who has remained committed to his home town except

for a semester spent in Texas, does not want this to be misunderstood

as criticism of his Chinese colleagues. On the contrary, he says, he was

very glad that his Chinese colleagues opened up their everyday lives to

him.

“Karaoke is simply something the Chinese do at the weekend,”

Luig says. “It was all really relaxed, and I was part of it. Since coming

back, I’ve already had a visitor from China here.” And what was the

everyday working environment at ThyssenKrupp like in China? “About

100 employees manufacture elevators and escalators there, above all

in assembly.” And what was he doing? “It was only an internship,” says

Luig, perhaps somewhat too modestly. “For example, I sized elevator

support components.”

Even if he makes it sound modest, Luig’s internship reflects a

basic approach pursued by ThyssenKrupp: The idea of giving young

people around the world an opportunity to participate in the develop-

ment of complex technologies while getting to know foreign cultures

and different customer and supplier relationships. The innovative spirit

of future scientists has to be nurtured under optimal conditions,

Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz, Chairman of the Executive Board of

ThyssenKrupp AG, reaffirmed recently. After all, qualified workers, en-

gineers and scientists are a decisive competitive factor for the German

economy.

UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS

Let’s turn back to Germany. By cooperating with Bochum and five other

German universities (Aachen, Dortmund, Dresden, Berlin and Ham-

burg-Harburg), ThyssenKrupp hopes to recruit particularly talented

prospective employees – and more than that: “When we put together

the focus university concept in 2001, we knew that ThyssenKrupp did

not have the best reputation at the universities,” says Ney, who deals

mainly with management development at ThyssenKrupp.

“Although many employees were already in contact with faculties

and institutes, these activities and contacts had not yet been linked up.”

Such a network, however, was urgently needed: “To improve our re-

cruitment chances.”

In any case, the past few years have produced a paradigm

change: Companies and scientists are working increasingly closely to-

gether. In the past, joint projects, let alone joint theoretical discussions,

were unimaginable. And today? “The nature of modern science makes

cooperative activities unavoidable,” Ernst-Wolfgang Winnacker, the

president of the German Research Society DFG, wrote recently. Coop-

eration programs not with just anybody, but with companies that ensure

the sort of technological innovations needed to maintain the competi-

tiveness of a market economy.

But competition for the best engineers, a group of crucial impor-

tance in future business development, is tough. About 75 percent of

newly employed university graduates have an engineering background,

according to Ney. In its cooperation programs with economic and busi-

ness management professors, ThyssenKrupp concentrates on ac-

counting and corporate controlling. The share of economics and busi-

ness management graduates among ThyssenKrupp’s roughly 9,000

specialists and managers now stands at 15 percent. Mechanical engi-

neers account for the largest share, or 45 percent, of engineers, fol-

lowed by electrical engineers (17 percent) and steelworking/metallurgy

specialists with 10 percent.

Demand is high. The fact that ThyssenKrupp companies employ

300 to 400 young academics a year has made this an issue of key

strategic importance: The partnerships with all selected universities are

handled by a high-ranking ThyssenKrupp manager and a Group coor-

dinator. They form cooperation committees with their partners at the

universities to coordinate the joint work and exchange activities.

“Our goal is not to employ the students in the Corporate Center of

ThyssenKrupp AG, but in our subsidiaries,” Ney says. After all,

ThyssenKrupp is a group of small and very large companies whose na-

ture is not determined by the Corporate Center with its relatively small

number of employees. “This is why we also do not have a central train-

ing program,” she adds.

Three years have passed since the “Focus Universities Concept”

was initiated. At the time, the initiators wrote: “ThyssenKrupp is facing

Creative employees are sought-after


■ UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES ■ 87

tough competition for qualified academic managers. The company’s

image in this area is lacking.” Much has happened since then, thanks

in part to the personal dedication of executives who have acted as am-

bassadors for the group and transported a credible message highlight-

ing the group’s varied nature and attractive prospects in numerous

events and conversations.

With obvious success: Luig agrees that the company’s image has

been markedly improved. Are there any other companies with a similar

presence at his university?

The names of small and mid-sized companies “that sometimes

offer to sponsor a student’s thesis” come to mind, Luig says. He him-

self, however, did not write his thesis for such a company. Instead, he

had the support of Uhde, a plant builder within the ThyssenKrupp group

that is headquartered in Dortmund.

“It was about cost estimates, about the creation of a model to

project and control costs.” Apparently, Luig has been asked before how

this issue, apparently a matter of business management, relates to

mechanical engineering. He has a suitable answer at hand: “On sec-

ond glance, it has a lot to do with mechanical engineering. After all,

costs also should not explode at machinery and plant engineering com-

panies.”

SIGHTS SET ON ENGINEERING PROJECTS

Could Luig imagine working for ThyssenKrupp? Yes, of course, he says

without hesitation. But it will have to wait awhile because he still wants

to complete his doctorate. This, too, makes Patrick Luig a good case in

point. Ney says ThyssenKrupp’s university program can only show its

full impact over the long term. The young student agrees: “It has to

grow over several years. Two years certainly don’t suffice to judge

success or failure.”

Students and university graduates thus have to be supported

continually. And, for younger students, ThyssenKrupp has to work on

getting them interested in the subject areas that matter most to it.

ThyssenKrupp achieves this by sponsoring such events as “do-camp-

ing,” where 11th- and 12th graders from different cities and high

schools take part in engineering projects in Dortmund each summer.

They camp out on the university campus, and ThyssenKrupp sponsors

the project, for example by offering works tours and meetings with

young engineers who talk about their current work. It doesn’t have

to be China. 7

Cooperative partnerships with uni-versities are firmly established.Three years ago, ThyssenKrupp’sExecutive Board launched theconcept of focus universities – apositive development for graduateslike Patrick Luig.


88 ■ ELECTROSTATIC APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY ■


■ ELECTROSTATIC APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY ■ 89

By Peter Kurz | Photos Achim Multhaupt

Charged upThyssenKrupp Anlagenservice has designed and built an electrostatic application system that is unrivaled to date

We’re all witnesses to a global structural change which affects all

areas of our industrialized world. The sort of clear delineations

that were known in the Wilhelminian era are dissolving or no

longer exist. The boundaries between production and service have be-

come fuzzy. Whole business processes are now outsourced to external

service providers. Outsourcing has long ceased to be a dirty word and

has become an everyday practice. Nearly all companies pave the way

for a global exchange with customers and suppliers.

This process of permanent change does not call for history books

to be rewritten, but the definition of services in some thesauruses no

longer appears up to date. In its 2003 edition, for example, the Ber-

telsmann youth thesaurus defines services as: “An economic activity

that does not produce goods. The service sector includes, for example,

banks, insurance firms and restaurants.” Today’s industrial world is far

more complex and can no longer be compartmentalized so neatly. The

former parts producer has become a system supplier and competent

development partner, and service-oriented companies today offer all-

round packages tailored to meet the customer’s individual needs. The

companies that make up the ThyssenKrupp Services segment are

creative proof of this new self-conception because they optimize their

processes virtually on an ongoing basis and generate new business

areas and customers by means of innovative developments.

ThyssenKrupp Anlagenservice put this into practice as part of an

ambitious contract whose clearly formulated requirements called for in-

novative detailed solutions in several areas. An unprecedented electro-

static coating unit was to be designed and supplied to BLG Logistics

Group in the northern German city of Bremen.

A GRAM OF OIL PER SQUARE METER OF METAL SHEET

Bremen-based BLG is in charge of organizing the worldwide transport

of thousands of car body components each day for DaimlerChrysler AG.

However, since the components have not yet been coated, the already

compressed metal sheets and car body components, which will not be

assembled into complete car bodies until they reach their destination,

require effective protection from wind, sun, sea and sky on their trip

over the oceans of the world. Experience shows that a thin oil film offers

A patent registered dosage system on the electrostatic coating line protects the uncoated sheets with a thin oil film.



the needed protection to the as yet untreated metal sheet parts. Vari-

ous methods were available to this end. But they all shared a decisive

disadvantage – they always ended up putting too much oil on each

sheet because the dosage was relatively imprecise. Yet great effort and

expense are required to remove the excessively thick oil film before fur-

ther processing can occur. The technology that has been used up till

now applied about 10 grams of oil per square meter of metal sheet.

This offered considerable potential for optimization, especially from an

ecological point of view.

“For us, the challenge in building the system in Bremen was to

develop an electrostatic application process which could apply the spe-

cial spraying medium in the very low dosages desired onto the metal

sheets in a reliable and economic manner,” explains Dr. Peter Maresch,

head of technology and authorized officer at ThyssenKrupp Anla-

genservice in Oberhausen, commenting on the task at hand.

That task was precisely defined by the customer. The amount of

oil was to be reduced to less than three grams per square meter with-

out any decrease in protection. This ambitious goal could not be

achieved using conventionally built application equipment. The secret

of the application technology developed by ThyssenKrupp Anlagenser-

vice lies in the perfection of the systems. New combinations of materi-

als and especially a process which actively and systematically regulates

the manipulation of the electronic potential, for which a patent has been

applied for, produces a very high-strength field just in front of the spray

jets. This means that the oil drops spend longer than previously usual

in areas with relatively low potential and can be dispersed there in very

fine droplets.

For example, oil drops coming out of the spray system are

charged with a voltage of around 60 to 80 kilovolts. “This has two ef-

fects. First of all, the surface of the metal sheet attracts the oil due to

the voltage differential. Secondly, it builds up an electrostatic repulsive

force within the oil drops so that they split up into very fine droplets,”

explains Maresch. Or in other words this innovative technology makes

it possible to convert the amount of oil in a thimble (1 cm3) into nearly

a billion tiny individual droplets. However, this requires a particular type

of oil, one in which the smallest droplets form a closed film again after

impacting on the metal. The technical name for this type of oil is

thixotropic oil. Thixotropy is a time-dependent property in which the in-

ternal structure breaks up when agitated and then reforms again when

left at rest. Another way to explain it is to use honey as an example.

When it is not in motion, fresh, clear honey is thick and syrupy but when

stirred rapidly it becomes more fluid.

A LASER BEAM GUARANTEES HIGH QUALITY

But this was still not enough. To ensure that the quality of the oil layer

remains uniformly high, an online monitoring system, for which a

patent has also been applied for, was developed. A laser makes the

nearly invisible spray mist directly next to the target optically visible. A

special camera with a self-cleaning lens likewise developed by

ThyssenKrupp Anlagenservice constantly observes the laser beam. By

comparing brightness, the electronic beam monitors the consistency of

the oil mist. The system can even easily detect partial failures of less

than 30 millimeters, which produce a barely detectable under-oiling of

the surface. Moreover, the machine is capable of fixing by itself oil flow

The secret of dosage

Oil drops coming out of the spraysystem are charged with a voltageof up to 80 kilovolts. The surfaceof the metal sheet thus attractsthe oil and a minute amount of oilis split up into one billiondroplets. A laser beam monitorsthe quality of the spray mist.



blockages resulting from dirty or too cold oil by means of a targeted,

computer guided spray process. This type of self-cleaning removes

the greater part of potential disruptions without intervention by the op-

erator. Another advantage comes from the unbroken documentation of

quality control which provides data that can be used to make further

improvements.

The perfection of the pump system and the two spray bars for the

upper and lower sides of the car body parts are also distinctive fea-

tures of the new system.

The movable spray bars, which no other system offers so far, can

be steered to follow the contours of the target it is spraying. The logis-

tics of the car body parts, for example, limit the speed with which they

can move through the system. This in turn requires the use of volume-

based doses. The spray bar is segmented and each segment is

equipped with its own oil supply line as well as a capillary structure.

Preliminary development of this had already started beforehand thus

permitting the development time to be shortened since a time window

of only three months was available for construction.

INNOVATIVE CORPORATE STRATEGY

For this reason, an already existing test facility in Oberhausen was

modified by ThyssenKrupp Anlagenservice during the pilot phase so

that all car body parts, even in large numbers, could be coated under

nearly realistic conditions. The so-called spot oiler came about almost

as a by-product from this pilot phase. For parts with large recesses or

cut-out sections such as doors in side pieces or panels, a pattern

recognition program turns off the appropriate spray segments when no

material is located beneath them. This again saves oil and money.

So, technical highlights in almost every feature. But that is

not the only reason that this radical new conception of an electro-

static application system is a convincing example of technical innova-

tion. It also demonstrates the ability of a modern service provider to

remake itself and meet the needs of a constantly shifting market.

After all, innovation means renewal, change. This refers not just to a

new machine or revolutionary developments. Today more than ever,

innovation also means the permanent development of the whole

company. The companies that have prospered in the market are those

that have gone from being from suppliers of specialized parts to highly-

qualified systems providers. ThyssenKrupp Anlagenservice is system-

atically following this forward-looking philosophy. “The business

decision, for example, to develop and build electrostatic application

systems, to find new technical measuring approaches for quality

control, and to make application technology know-how available to old

and new customers, goes far beyond that which you could call just a

reform of the original core business,” said Maresch explaining the

company’s strategic orientation as a skilled, forward-looking service

provider.

Design engineers who for decades considered heavy steel con-

struction to be their sphere, are now busy working on self-cleaning

laser optics and microprocessor controlled facilities. They offer their

customers tailored complete solutions ranging from construction to

global distant monitoring and quality control.

“Not just the isolated development of new, improved products

but also the renovation of a company itself is innovation,” sums up

Maresch. Electrostatic application technology is an example of this –

and a very convincing one. 7

New production processes require new thought processes

Up to 3,000 metal parts aresprayed in the Bremen planteach day. Because of the exactdosage of the spray oil, thesheets can immediately bewelded into car bodies withoutelaborate prior cleaning. Thishelps protect the environmentand saves money.


94 ■ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ■

By Christa Klein | Illustrations Tobias Wandres

Top precision through artificial intelligenceNeural networks and automated surface inspection


■ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ■ 95

TAKO – an intriguing word. But what does this cryptic term used

at ThyssenKrupp Steel in Duisburg really mean? An attempt to

unveil the secret takes us into a scientific world that was devel-

oped and implemented by U.S. researchers (such as John von

Neumann and later Donald O. Hebb and Marvin Minsky) exactly 61

years ago: Artificial neural networks. TAKO stands for “a combination

of pickle and tandem mill.” A rather dull phrase compared to the way

in which neural networks increasingly mirror the function of human

nerve cells. Neural networks are state-of-the-art computer programs.

For the moment, however, software experts estimate that their actual

performance still amounts to no more than that of a fly’s brain. Still,

“an analogy exists between human and technical comprehension in

our TAKO processes in the context of the neural system,” says

Bert Freygang, engineer and head of operations for technology at

ThyssenKrupp Steel’s Duisburg plant in the automotive division. “With-

in the neural network, I consider the hard figures and the data that

flow into the computer systems via the communication levels particu-

larly relevant. The neural network has to process these signals and

respond with specific signals.” Dr. Karl-Ulrich Köhler, the chairman of

the management board of ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG, summed up the

key benefits at the inauguration of TAKO three years ago: “In process

automation, artificial neural networks are used to complement mathe-


96 ■ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ■

Five roll stands get the strip in shape in the cold-rolling mill.Large volumes of data are called up in this process andanalyzed in the neural network, which then respondswith specific signals.

matical models. This makes it possible to balance out influencing vari-

ables that are otherwise difficult to grasp, such as the current status

of the mill. Before the start of operations, the neural networks were

trained in the laboratory.”

In Duisburg Beeckerwerth, the world’s most modern cold-rolling

mill, ThyssenKrupp Steel has to fulfill the highest requirements of the

most demanding customers. The automotive industry, in particular, is

raising the demands placed on the production of cold-rolled thin sheet

with regard to its surface quality, mechanical-technological properties

and dimension tolerances. Lighter steel sheets, higher-strength mater-

ial with a maximum width of up to 2.04 meters and a minimal thickness

of up to 0.3 millimeters are produced here. And the state-of-the-art tech-

nology minimizes anomalies – that is “deviations from the products’

norm quality” - on cold-rolled thin sheet.

Freygang describes the significance of the neural networks in

rolling technology for local operations: “While the strip is being rolled,

the basic automation ensures that the target values, such as strip

thickness, are attained. Once the strip has been processed, process

automation obtains all measured values needed for a subsequent

cross-check.” These values are factored into the processing of the

next strip – hence the concept of the ’learning neural networks’ that

form a type of supervisory control circuit. They draw new information

from the measured values, store it and apply it to projections of future

strips. The result: Concrete quality improvements in the cold-rolling mill.

Neural networks are very adaptive. The experts at ThyssenKrupp Steel

say, “During the phase of knowledge acquisition and training, the

neural networks acquire their problem-solving ability independently

by repeatedly being confronted with exemplary anomalies of steel

strip.”

This sounds exciting, from a human intellectual standpoint as

well, and all the more so in a corporate division that lives by the motto

“Thinking the future of steel.” More and more, one might want to add,

and beyond the elimination of anomalies.

SURFACE CAMERAS ENSURE QUALITY CONTROL

The use of intelligent software for automated surface quality control,

which has been employed in the various processing and finishing phas-

es in ThyssenKrupp’s entire steel business since 1999, aims in the

same direction. Harald Henkemeyer, divisional head for technology in

the automotive division at ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG, makes a calm and

factual impression. He recalls the start of surface inspections, mostly

through surface cameras. “These surface cameras have the same

properties as digital cameras, although one connects 20 digital cam-

eras, not just one,” Henkemeyer says, pointing out the reason for the

large number of cameras: “The steel strip is divided into many individ-

ual parts, just like a bar of chocolate whose individual pieces together

make up one bar. What we do is to continually create a large number of

pictures covering the entire strip and check for anomalies.” This does

not necessarily make things easier: These anomalies can be more or

less conspicuous and feature a multitude of different properties, such

as longitudinal alignment, light/darkness transitions, center of gravity

position and other rather abstract values. The applied systems can

Profile measurement

Width measurement

Strip tension and flatness measurement

Strip tension measurement

Thickness measurement

EDC measurement

Strip speed measurement


■ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ■ 97

Eyes see better than machines

make an abstract, generalize and thus detect errors based on learned

attributes. They react even to small changes and store these data.

A LEARNING INSPECTION SYSTEM

The strip observation system of Aachen-based Parsytec AG looks like a

large strap, 1 meter deep and 3 meters long and with a light power of

about 2 kilowatt. This strap contains both the electronics of the digital

cameras and the lighting units that, invisible to the human eye, illumi-

nate the strip. The cameras continuously shoot pictures, about 400 per

second. Only about 0.2 percent of these, however, actually supply valu-

able information about anomalies on the running strip. Says Harald

Henkemeyer: “The remaining 99.8 percent are irrelevant. Exactly that,

however, is the real achievement of an inspection system: to separate

irrelevant pictures from those with high information content.” In other

words, what is needed is an immense computer capacity and compe-

tence (or performance) to register the existing algorithms.

Can this machine replace humans? The technician rejects this no-

tion because, he says, one thing does not change: “Our eye still sees

more than the machine. Although his condition may vary from day to

day, the strip observer is therefore a key component of our quality as-

surance process. After all, a strip observer knows all of the steel brands

that are being produced and can evaluate them better than a machine

that works with other mechanisms and categories.”

The engineers at ThyssenKrupp Steel, for their part, enthusiasti-

cally embrace these technologies. Technology is reflected in a special,

remarkable way in multi-faceted neural networks. 7

NEURAL NETWORKS IN THE INQUISITIVE ROLLING MILL

Neural networks are classified as “artificial intelligence.”They represent one of many processes seeking to imitate human problem-solving strategies and are known as artificial models of human brains. They use nature as a model for technology.

Like the brain of mammals, neural networks consist of interconnected neurons (nerve cells). Hence thename “neural networks.” Similar to the brain, whichfunctions by passing impulses to nerve and musclecells, neural networks process entered information bygetting the affected neurons to process information(that is strengthen or weaken impulses) and pass it onto neighboring nerve cells. The program learns the factual logic on its own account by being trained in themodel cases.

Surface inspection of steel strips in the rolling milloffers the necessary large volume of data. A neuralnetwork can thus be set in motion and confronted with ever new data to provide the basis for a systemthat represents a real competitive advantage – in this case the cold-rolling mill.


98 ■ MARINE ■

Phot

os: L

eand

er J

ahod

a


■ MARINE ■ 99

By Michael Kirchberger

The ancient Romans used to say “Navigare necesse est” – “Sea-

faring is necessary.” But the marine subsidiaries of ThyssenKrupp

would certainly not agree with the second half of the saying –

”vivere non est necesse” – “life not.” For the shipbuilders of Thyssen

Krupp, the well-being of people who go to sea stands at the heart of

their innovative research. From the beginning of a project, safety, com-

fort, and cost effectiveness enjoy the highest priority in the shipyards’

planning offices. The success of their efforts is guaranteed by innova-

tive research and technology.

SEARCHING FOR THE DATA BASE: THE RESEARCH SHIP PLANET

Speed may not be the highest priority but optimizing the flow of water

around a ship’s hull not only cuts down on energy consumption but also

has the highly desirable side effect of increasing the number of knots,

or in other words, the speed. A hull shape using the latest knowledge

from the field of flow studies requires solid data for the engineers to

work with. Nordseewerke in Emden, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp

Technologies, performs much of the research required to provide this

basic data and a lot of other information in the field of marine research

aboard the research ship Planet.

The 73-meter-long research and development ship has a beam of

27.2 meters. The ship is somewhat reminiscent of a catamaran, with

the superstructure connected by extremely narrow supports to two tor-

pedo-like hull sections which are completely submerged. On board is

room for a crew of 25 and a research team of 20 scientists. The Planet

displaces 3,500 tons, has a maximum draft of 6.8 meters and is one of

Sailing the seven seas with a cargo ofinnovations ThyssenKrupp’s marine subsidiaries set the standards

The research ship Planet with its characteristic dual hull structure sets sail with a crew of 25 men and 20 scientists on board. Their chief task is to examine the ship’s behavior in heavy seas. The collected data can be analyzed right away in three on-board laboratories.


100 ■ MARINE ■

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■ MARINE ■ 101

The right climate on board for all climes

the quietest surface ships in the world. This is due to the separation of

the components in its propulsion system. The propellers, one at the end

of each hull, are driven by shafts connected to electric motors in the

hulls below the waterline. The generators which produce the electricity

to drive the motors are installed on the main deck, far above the water-

line. All other major noise-producing machinery is also located above in

the ship, considerably reducing the transmission of structural borne

noise through the hulls. The Planet hums through the water as quietly

as a modern submarine crawling slowly underwater.

While low sound emission is an absolute prerequisite for testing

marine technology, the behavior of the Planet in heavy seas provides a

lot of information for researching ship characteristics. The small water-

line surfaces mean that waves striking the hull only have a very slight

impact on changes in buoyancy; even in high swells and at high speed

the ship remains extremely stable. When there is an even distribution of

the ship’s speed and course in a given sea state, the selected limiting

criteria are not exceeded in 75 percent of all cases.

To further improve the ship’s stability underway, two fins located

forward and measuring 8.3 square meters each can be employed. They

can move 20 degrees in either direction and balance out changes in

trim resulting from the ship’s speed. In addition, the fins can be used to

regulate the ship’s pitching caused by waves. Two built-in fins serve to

improve the longitudinal stability of the Planet. The data collected is

processed in three laboratories. In addition, the Planet can take five

20-foot research containers on board on either the H or B-Deck. Cranes

are also available to take floating measurement instruments and buoys

for hydrographic research out of the water. So, when ships of the future

sail even more quietly through heavy seas and thus use their energy

more efficiently, it could be due to the practically oriented research of

the Planet – just like its motto says, “Discovering future technology.”

GOOD CLIMATE ABOARD THE CLUB SHIP AIDA

A good climate always serves to set a good tone on board. This applies

especially to the modern club ship where the entertainment and leisure

offerings provide a welcome change of pace from the trips ashore in the

A pleasant climate on board is very important. Noske-Kaeser realized a complex solution with a total of 41 air-conditioning systems that ensure the righttemperature on board the two Aida cruise ships – in the cold storage room as much as in the cabins, the restaurant and the theater.


102 ■ MARINE ■

various ports of call. That’s why the climate control system on board the

two Seetours ships Aida vita and Aida aura was a challenge for the

ThyssenKrupp subsidiary, Noske-Kaeser. Not only must each of the up

to 1,266 passengers on board the two cruise ships keep a cool head in

their cabins and suites, as well as in the fitness rooms, discotheques

and restaurants, but the provisions in the ship’s 29 cold storage rooms

for the daily food service had to be kept fresh in a strictly maintained,

tight temperature range.

Four times 2,000 kilowatts of cooling power are needed to keep each of

the Aidas at a comfortable temperature. But coldness is a sensitive

good, uncomfortable when directly delivered, and a distribution system

that keeps people feeling cool, especially as part of modern ship design

the Aida duo represent, required a rather complex solution. Accordingly,

Noske-Kaeser decided to spread 20 climate-control centers over the

length and breadth of the nearly 203-meter-long and 28-meter-wide

ships. Forty-one major air conditioning units were installed, distributors

built in, vents fitted. “A project of this size and at this level of comfort

was a particular challenge for us,” said Helge Drews, head of engi-

neering at Noske-Kaeser, looking back. In the end, the interior design

of the two Aidas demanded completely unconventional climate-control

solutions which had to be integrated into the overall design of the club

ships. In order to maintain the high standards of design style in the

leisure ships, the cooled air is indirectly brought into the ships’ public

areas via pressure decks; the air flows into the rooms and halls through

air vents which fit in with the architecture. The air conditioning of the

theater, which can hold anywhere from 600 to 1,000 people depending

on the seating arrangement, proved to be particularly difficult. Not only

did the air vents in the theater have to meet high standards of appear-

ance but the cool air had to flow in overhead without making any noise.

After all, it would not do to have the pianissimo (soft) part of a piano

solo drowned out by the hissing of the air conditioning system. The en-

gineers at Noske-Kaeser mastered the tasks given them with bravura.

The Aida vita was outfitted with the complex system on schedule and

the Hamburg interior-climate experts even completed equipping its sis-

ter ship, Aida aura, which entered service a year later, one month ahead

of time – proof that commitment to quality and meeting schedules are

among the well maintained virtues of the company philosophy at

ThyssenKrupp.

SETTING SAIL IN A VIRTUAL SHIP

Blohm+Voss in Hamburg, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Technologies,

is among the leading developers of new technology for ocean-going

The virtual ship – around the world by mouseclick

Phot

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■ MARINE ■ 103

vessels. Nowadays, however, time pressure and costs no longer allow

a class of ships to be just designed on paper with the aid of models. In

the 21st century, builders and designers use computers to go through

a round of their new designs without having to rivet or weld one piece

of aluminum or high-strength steel together. The virtual ship sets sail

long before the keel of the real one is laid. Using criteria specified by the

customer, a design is created which puts out to sea on a computer chip.

The ship’s roll and pitch can be checked and the working of the fin sta-

bilizers or the rudder-roll stabilizer can be calculated. For Navy ships or

modern cruise ships – floating hotels – stability, even in heavy weath-

er, is top priority. After all, the Navy cannot allow the performance of its

missions to depend on the weather and seasick passengers seldom

book another trip. Maneuverability is just as critical to the operating effi-

ciency of new ships. On a computer screen, modern cruise ships move

through the tight Hamburg harbor in extra-large. The agility and ability

of the hull’s construction to turn are tested here extremely realistically.

This can also be pre-programmed using “Simulation Based Design”

thus reducing considerably the risks of the overall design. The shape of

the hull, depending on the type of ship, offers a variety of opportunities

for achieving the prescribed goals. Cruise ships and sea-going ferries are

designed as “Fast Cruise Liners,” able to reach speeds of more than 26

knots with relatively low fuel consumption. Merchant ships are designed

to carry their cargoes and to sail the seven seas cost-effectively. Life

inside the ship is also a priority. For passenger liners and cruise ships

it is the layout and shape of the cabins and rooms that attract paying

passengers aboard. At the press of a button, the entire style of the ship

can be changed in order to make a decision. A postmodern design in

dark shades with stainless steel and wood elements can be changed in

the blink of an eye to an art-deco style. Everything inside the ship, down

to the size of the armchairs in the salons, can be determined, taking into

consideration the number of passengers and the width of the aisles

between the seating groups.

For the customer, the virtual ship construction method offers an-

other decisive advantage. The costs of the construction, except for a

few difficult-to-calculate items, can be determined in advance with

great precision. In 1931 when the Savonara, then the longest private

yacht in the world with a length of 124 meters, was launched at

Blohm+Voss, the construction of such ships was marked by experi-

ments, supported by experience and launched with courage. Today,

computer aided design techniques provide the shipyards and their cus-

tomers with planning security and guaranteed economy – with the

pleasant side effect of a much reduced design time. 7

The virtual ship cruises along on the screen before the first pieces have been weldedtogether. This reduces thedevelopment time and improvesthe necessary properties – fuel consumption in the case of the trade ship and smoothsailing in heavy seas in the case of the cruise ship.

104 ■ TRAINING ■


■ TRAINING ■ 105

By Sybille Wilhelm | Photos Rainer Kaysers

Work bench meets high-techThyssenKrupp Steel prepares today’s youths for future occupations

Anybody who glances at the want ads for apprenticeship positions

these days can easily become bewildered. All of a sudden, com-

panies are training mechatronics engineers or computer business

managers, and young people who would have become radio or televi-

sion technicians in the past now have to become acquainted with a few

more communication devices as well. As a result, they have acquired a

new name: Information-electronic experts.

In the past, three to four new apprenticeship occupations were

usually created each year in Germany. An equal number of occupations

were restructured because the practical requirements have changed.

“There are no old occupations today,” says Klaus Bailer, Director of

Personnel Service/Training at ThyssenKrupp Steel. “All occupations

have changed over time. That means they’re all highly up-to-date.”

NEW REQUIREMENTS, NEW TRAINING

Hardly any sector has gone untouched by technological progress. Elec-

tronic equipment is now installed next to work benches at Thyssen

Krupp’s training center in Duisburg-Hamborn. And apprentices who

can use a grinder just as skillfully as the nearby computer are no longer

an unusual sight.

The main thing is that the chemistry is right: The future chemical lab technicians learn all about the consistency of steel – from the raw material ore to the highly developed finished product.


A well-rounded offering ThyssenKrupp Steel trains apprentices in 12 differentoccupations ranging frombusiness management and IT to technical training.



TWO JOBS IN ONE

The metal and electronic occupations are coming together. And that

means employees need to have a totally new set of skills today. Since

a machine generally consists of just as many mechanical parts as elec-

tronic components, it makes little sense for a mechanic or an electrician

to handle such a machine on his own. “The occupation of mechatronics

engineer was created to ensure that specialists understand both tech-

nologies,” explains Klaus Bailer. “After all, the employee who installs and

then services the machine has to know it and all its components inside

out.” Mechatronic skills are needed, for example, for autopilot systems

in aircraft, for anti-lock brakes and for electronic engine management in

cars or robotics in highly automated production systems.

But it would be wrong to assume that technological progress has

taken a heavy physical workload off the shoulders of today’s young

people. State-of-the-art technology also cannot prevent them from

having a sore muscle or two. Here is one example: The machinist who

concentrates on the production of parts still regularly works up a sweat:

Nothing works without thecomputer at ThyssenKruppSteel. This is why all apprentices are trained in data processing, no matter whether they will later sit in an office or stand at the work bench.

Learning to learn



“Any machinist apprentice has to get a good feel for the grinder even if

he doesn’t work with it every day,” Klaus Bailer says. Even if a comput-

er-controlled lathe produces the parts, the final grinding may have to be

done manually. And specialized mechanics must be able to help them-

selves when there is no high-tech lathe to be found. Aside from the gen-

eral knowledge and basic skills related to metal working, ThyssenKrupp

Steel’s machinists also learn various related skills, such as welding, sol-

dering, grinding and drilling.

ONSLAUGHT ON APPRENTICESHIPS

Yet the high-school graduates do not shy away from the demanding

training program at ThyssenKrupp Steel. On the contrary: The steel ex-

perts’ training program seems to have such a solid reputation that the

number of applicants exceeds the number of training positions each

year. Last year alone, about 6,000 youths applied for one of the rough-

ly 300 apprenticeships at ThyssenKrupp Steel.

Apprenticeships are now offered for 12 different occupations in

the area of business management, technology and information tech-

nology. The increasing advance of technology has impacted not only

the industrial-technical, but also the traditional business management

apprenticeships. Aside from office and industrial sales managers who

learn about modern data management, ThyssenKrupp Steel now also

offers apprenticeships for computer business managers / IT specialists.

They analyze business processes, examine the use of IT systems and

identify the optimal usage area for application systems. They then im-

plement the theoretical proposals in practice as well as training and as-

sisting the users.

INDEPENDENT WITHIN THE TEAM

Irrespective of their apprenticeship at ThyssenKrupp Steel, all trainees

must share one key characteristic: They must be able to think indepen-

dently and logically in order to act responsibly: “The most important

thing is that our employees recognize the overall context and are able

to size up unknown situations,” Klaus Bailer says in explaining the key

criterion of personnel selection. They also need to be strong team play-

ers. After all, people who can present their arguments convincingly in a

group can make better decisions.

Trainees at ThyssenKrupp Steel also need foreign language skills.

“We’re an international group, after all. The probability that a trainee will

be employed outside of Germany at some point is relatively high.”

Aside from a compulsory English course, the youths can also choose

other languages such as Spanish or French.

Finally, personnel managers place great value on an applicant’s

thirst for knowledge – and this does not just apply to younger employees.

With sore muscles to sure instinct



“Technology changes fundamentally every five to eight years,” explains

Klaus Bailer. “And for us as a market leader, our employees’ know-how

is our greatest asset.”

Indeed the learning process does not stop at the apprentice-

ship. Just as the trainees have to be constantly up to date on the

latest developments in their particular area, all employees have to stay

on top of their fields during their entire professional life. For the trainers,

the workload extends well beyond the apprenticeship activities. While

professional development of the apprentices in ThyssenKrupp Steel’s

training centers take up about one-third of their time, the teachers

spend two-thirds of their work time expanding the knowledge of the

roughly 30,000 “adult” employees every year.

LEARNING AROUND THE CLOCK

With the “LiNet 24-7®,” a 24-hour network learning program, an In-

tranet tool was created that allows knowledge-hungry employees to

show their initiative by managing the learning process themselves –

without being tied to rigid training times or a fixed training location. With

this new culture of learning, ThyssenKrupp Steel thus promotes what

Klaus Bailer calls the key advantage of our work society compared with

others: “The ability to change constantly.” 7

A modern machine consists ofmechanical and electroniccomponents. This is why somebodywho understands both fields isneeded to assemble and service the machine. With the mecha-tronician, a new job was created to fulfill just this need.


112 ■ PUBLICATIONS ■

ThyssenKrupp Magazine

The magazines can be ordered at www.thyssenkrupp.com in the service-navigation area under “Publications.”

Publisher: ThyssenKrupp AG, Dr. Jürgen Claassen, August-Thyssen-Strasse 1, 40211 Düsseldorf, Telephone: +49 211-824-0

Project Management: Dr. Heribert Klein (responsible for editorial content) • Art Director: Peter Breul

Project Management at ThyssenKrupp: Barbara Scholten

Editorial address: Redaktionsbüro Dr. Heribert Klein, Wichernweg 8, 65549 Limburg,

Telephone: +49 6431 47610, Fax: +49 6431 408916, e-mail: [email protected]

Writers: Rüdiger Abele, Michael Kirchberger, Christa Klein, Peter Kurz, Paul Schinhofen, Felix Unverzagt, Dr. Lukas Weber, Sybille Wilhelm

Proofreading and Picture Editor: Christa Klein • Layout: Esther Rodriguez

Publishing House: F.A.Z.-Institut für Management-, Markt- und Medieninformationen GmbH,

Mainzer Landstraße 195, 60326 Frankfurt am Main, Telephone: +49 69–75 91-0, Fax: +49 69–75 91-1966

Managing Directors: Dr. Gero Kalt, Volker Sach, Peter Steinke

Lithography: Goldbeck System-Litho, Frankfurt am Main • Printing: SocietätsDruck, Mörfelden

Title Photo: Michael Wissing

The contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

Excerpts may only be reproduced with attribution and if a sample copy is provided.

Imprint

Sustainability was the overarching theme in

this edition of the ThyssenKrupp Magazine.

The issue contained a number of examples

illustrating the sustainable, future-oriented

way that ThyssenKrupp works:

Hydroforming uses water pressure to form

the hardest steels. The new FR30 steel

resists fire for half an hour. The concept of

the so-called TWIN elevator (two elevator

cars arranged one above the other in the

same shaft) is revolutionizing elevator

operations. And new sheet piling stabilizes

dikes for long periods of time. Each example

proves one thing: The company develops

products that save resources, energy and

money – ThyssenKrupp is committed to

sustainability.

“If you want to get things moving, you had

better get moving yourself!” was the motto

of the ThyssenKrupp Magazine edition that

appeared in the summer of 2003. As the

Chairman of the Executive Board, Prof. Dr.

Ekkehard D. Schulz, put it: "We put movement

into thinking." The magazine contains 20

stories as prime examples of how Thyssen

Krupp makes things move. Escalators in

Toledo, the mega yachts of Blohm + Voss, a

water roller-coaster with steel pylons and

large anti-friction bearings that find just the

high-level turning point. These are just a

few examples that show how ThyssenKrupp

employees prove day in and day out that

high-level technical progress is closely linked

to constant changes in thinking and acting.

Substances form one of the core areas

at ThyssenKrupp. Substances that can

be used in nearly all industrial applications

and that have become an essential member

of daily life. Substances that ensure that

fractions of a second can determine the

difference between victory and defeat, or

substances that will maintain the Cologne

Cathedral as a monumental creation of

man in coming centuries. Whether in the

home, sports, food production, automobile

construction, architecture or oil drilling – the

articles in ThyssenKrupp Magazine provide a

lively, multi-faceted look at the fascinating

and diverse world of substances.

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We would be pleased to give you more information on other subjects

If you would like us to keep you up to date on the latest developments, please fax the attached card to +49 (0)211-824-36040 or mail it.

ThyssenKrupp’s doors are always open on theInternet. The company’s site not only offers comprehensiveinformation for anyone interested in ThyssenKrupp, but alsoenables visitors to get in touch with us whenever they wish. So why not surf on over to www.thyssenkrupp.com and see what we have to offer.

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Sylvia’s father helps keep passengers moving comfortablyat Europe’s major airports.

Felipe Herrero Mangaswith daughter Sylvia

Visit us on the Internet: www.thyssenkrupp.com

Felipe Herrero Mangas and his colleagues atThyssenKrupp build moving walks which helppassengers at airports cover long distancesquickly and comfortably. ThyssenKrupp alreadymakes getting to the plane easy for millions ofpeople every day.

But we are always looking to improve even more.A prime example is our latest innovation – anaccelerating walk. Shortly after stepping onto themoving walk, passengers are gently acceleratedto twice the speed, then slowed down just asgently at the other end. Simple but brilliant. Nosurprise, then, that ThyssenKrupp has alreadyreceived an innovation award for this new devel-opment.

TK

Developing the future.

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magazine The future starts today – withproducts, services and sparklingideas. The people at ThyssenKrupphave been working as a team for a long time. That is because trueprogress does not simply arisefrom individual effort. It comesfrom an international network thatcan produce the sort of things that will lay the foundation forfuture generations.

TK

the future starts today – withproducts, services and ... · pdf fileranga yogeshwar,...

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