Stahlwerke Bochum GmbH celebrates production of millionth shredder hammer

Stahlwerke Bochum GmbH (SWB), based in Bochum, Germany, has manufactured its 1 millionth differentially hardened shredder hammer.

The company recognized the milestone with a product jubilee celebration at its Bochum factory with 140 employees, international representatives and special guests in attendance.

Guests of honor at the Sept. 1, 2015, event included Bochum Lord Mayor Dr. Ottilie Scholz, BDSV (national scrap recyclers’ association) Managing Director Dr. Rainer Cosson and BDG (national foundry industry association) Managing Director Max Schumacher.

SWB says it invented the differentially hardened shredder hammer some 30 years ago and now ships the product to 48 countries worldwide. The company also says it has continued to refine the wear tool over the years, and that exports account for 75 percent of sales. Main buyers are located in the United States and Canada, followed by France, England, Belgium, Spain and Japan.

Bruno Mayer, managing director of SWB and managing partner of SWB Holding GmbH, opened the ceremony with partners Wolfgang Callies and Stephan O. Mayer by providing a short retrospective on the company history. Mayer also thanked the employees and attendant representatives from England, France, Italy and Poland for their continuing dedication to the company's success.

In her welcoming address, Scholz acknowledged the positive returns the company has generated since its independence in 1989 as a reliable factor in the city’s yearly tax revenue and praised SWB as an equally reliable employer for 140 people.

Attendees enjoyed a giant cake adorned with a golden jubilee hammer and the flags of the 48 countries currently supplied by SWB.

SWB products are used in processing plants such as car shredders, scrap shears, stone crushers and other recycling equipment subjected to high levels of wear. The company says its wear parts are designed to offer a high resistance to abrasion, erosion and impact and to significantly improve the efficiency of processing equipment.

SWB also offers application consulting and matching of wear parts to the design and application of the respective machines. Production is based on computer-aided simulation of the casting technology, followed by machine moulding for series in a semi-automatic moulding plant or by hand moulding for piece production of wear parts up to 7,000 kilograms, SWB says.

The company says its wear parts are made of low and high alloyed steel and from cast special materials, depending on the application. An individual heat treatment then ensures that the quality and performance of the parts will match future requirements, SWB says.