Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Largest Business Area in SMS group adopts traditional name SMS Demag to become SMS Siemag


As of end of March 2009, SMS Siemag is the new name of the company that has up to now been known as SMS Demag – a leading supplier of metallurgical plant and rolling mill technology for the steel and aluminum industry. It is the largest company in the SMS group in terms of order intake and sales. This explains why the range of products and services will remain the same, while in the future the name will recall the roots of the company founded more than 130 years ago by the Weiss family of entrepreneurs.
Given that all the shares in the SMS group are once again under the control of the Weiss family, the Chairman of the SMS group, Heinrich Weiss, stated that “by taking this step, my family is continuing the tradition of our family-owned company.” That tradition stretches back to the second half of the 19th century when the company was founded in the Siegerland region of Germany. What was set up as a forging business in Siegen in 1871 evolved into Siegener Maschinenbau AG (Siemag) in 1918. It started producing rolling mills in 1927.

SMS group is, under the roof of the holding SMS GmbH, a group of companies internationally
active in plant construction and mechanical engineering for the steel and nonferrous metals industry. It consists of the two Business Areas SMS Siemag and SMS Meer, which jointly form SMS metallurgy. In 2008, some 8,400 employees worldwide generated a turnover of more than EUR 3.5 bn.
So, by acquiring leading companies in metallurgical machinery and plant construction including Schloemann, Concast, MAN-GHH as well as Demag, and because of the company’s own vigorous growth,
these beginnings led to today’s SMS group that consists of Business Areas SMS Siemag (metallurgical plant and rolling mill technology) and SMS Meer (tube, long product, press and forging technology).
Now that the metallurgical branch of the former Mannesmann Demag AG acquired in 1999 is fully integrated, the largest Business Area in the SMS group has revived the traditional name of
SMS Siemag.

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