Focus on future

Our high-performance materials are used as spring steel and precision strip in a wide range of environmental technology applications. We work every day to find technically innovative, individual material solutions to provide our customers with the best possible support and implement their product ideas in all future-oriented sectors such as mobility, environmentally friendly energy, improving air quality, sustainable sensor systems or even water treatment.

At BWS, we design all our internal processes to be resource-efficient, from Procurement to Production to Sales. We ensure that the impact on our environment is as low as possible and that energy is used efficiently. These are the drivers for our BWS initiatives.

Customer Projects Environmental and Process Technology

Future Mobility

BWS supplies strip for products that point the way to the future of mobility. Both stainless steels and special alloys are used in the areas of electric and hydrogen mobility – e.g. as bipolar plates, for the storage and transport of hydrogen, in cooling systems or charging stations.

Green Energy

For the area of environmentally friendly energy, for example, high-temperature semi-finished products are produced for heat recovery products. But BWS strips also plays an essential role for manufacturers of renewable energy systems – such as electrolysers or solar power plants.

Clean Environment

Our organisation plays its part in improving air quality, as BWS high-performance materials are used, for example, in exhaust gas desulfurization systems.

Sustainable Sensor Systems

The field of sustainable sensor systems is an important niche for ensuring high environmental standards. For this purpose, high-temperature materials suitable for sustained temperature stresses of up to 1200 degrees under oxidizing conditions, e.g. for use in exhaust gas monitoring sensor systems, are supplied to ensure future-oriented environmental requirements.

Water supply

There are many different environmental technology applications for BWS products – whether stainless, high-alloy or special material. One of the essential applications is the topic of water treatment.

BWS Initiatives

Scrap for the melting of stainless steel

Stainless steel is melted in electric arc furnaces. Primary raw materials and stainless steel scrap are used for the production. In addition to primary iron raw materials, the latter also contain resource-intensive alloying metals such as nickel, chromium and molybdenum. One very important precondition for the melting process is the homogeneous induction.

At BWS, scrap produced at all machines and intermediate stations in the production process is precisely labeled. Various containers are available for the separation of approx. 60 material grades. A distinction is made according to the emphasis of the respective alloying components. High-alloy materials are collected in extra containers. This ensures that BWS scrap is returned to the melting process.

Recycling and reuse of rolling oil

For a perfect rolling result, BWS permanently monitors the rolling oil parameters and adjusts the composition of the rolling oil to the individual rolling processes. In this way, the adjusted grinding, lubrication and cooling conditions ensure an optimal surface.

The rolling oil impure through the abrasion of material and rolls is collected in order to feed it again to the rolling process in circulation after cleaning and cooling. Continuous filtering, ongoing analysis and treatment of the rolling oil ensure that the rolling oil is of consistent quality and that it is reused in a way that conserves resources. Rolling oil that has been used up over the years is returned by BWS to the manufacturer, where it is recycled and made available for other lubricant applications.

Wood scrap as fuel

BWS ships strips of stainless steel, nickel and titanium alloys, packaged compatible for material and transport, to a large extent on wooden pallets or in wooden crates. Wood scrap, for example defective pallets and wooden coils, is collected separately and made available to the supplier for shredding and reutilization as fuel.

Chemical-free degreasing

In order to realize an even and residue-free strip surface, it is necessary to completely remove the rolling oil before each heat treatment. Here, BWS relies on a degreasing system that works exclusively with hot water and high pressure, no chemical additives polluting the environment.

Waste heat as heating

To heat the production facilities in the cold rolling mill, the heat from the annealing furnaces is utilized, which are fuelled by a total of 10 natural gas burners with up to 1,200° C. Thanks to additional insulation of the outer walls and efficient air circulation, there is no need at all for additional heating of the production hall. High-speed doors ensure that the heat does not escape.

Hall lighting with LEDs

With the conversion from fluorescent tubes to modern LED technology, an efficient and optimal hall lighting was implemented, which is also characterized by longevity and low maintenance. Due to the excellent efficiency of LEDs, high energy savings are achieved. In addition to the good energy balance, the fact that LED diodes do not contain toxic substances such as mercury and other heavy metals, they are 100% recyclable and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions which is a real ecological plus.

Multiple use interleaf paper

Interleaf paper or tissue paper is used to protect surface-sensitive grades during stretch-bending, bright annealing and pre-slitting. This very thin, tear-resistant paper is wound onto a cardboard core in the downstream operation using spreader rolls and can thus be reused several times. Spread rollers are plastic brushes that drive the paper from the center outward, ensuring that it is laid straight-edged and wrinkle-free.

Reuse of packaging

As part of our packaging process, pallets, spools, cores as well as interleaf cardboard boxes are repeatedly exchanged with our customers until the natural wear limit of the respective packaging materials is reached. If these are discarded from the before mentioned circular economy, the raw materials wood and paper/cardboard are fed into the general recycling process via a disposal company.