ThyssenKrupp Magazin

88 VIM FURNACE
Super alloys of
unrivaled purity
The vacuum induction melting furnace
(VIM) of ThyssenKrupp VDM in Unna is the
premier address in Europe for production
materials with extreme characteristics
By Dieter Vogt | Illustrations Tobias Wandres
There are, in fact, more precious objects than the precious metals
that adorn the necks and wrists of women. Very pure alloys, which
are not worn with evening dress, are even more refined and sophisticated.
Most have unknown names and will never be as prominent
as gold or silver, but these high-performance materials fulfill crucial
tasks at critical technological interfaces in equipment including automotive
catalysts, aircraft engines, television sets and flue gas desulfurization
plants.
TWO-HUNDRED-AND-SIXTY CREATIONS ON OFFER
Giesserstrasse (Casters’ Street) and Formerstrasse (Formers’ Street),
two addresses on the outskirts of Unna, reflect the prominence of the
steel industry in the city just east of Dortmund, in Germany’s Rhine-
Ruhr industrial region. From the outside it is impossible to tell that the
blue works halls are Europe’s premier address for special alloys, yet the
Unna smelting plant is ThyssenKrupp VDM GmbH’s specialty kitchen.
Alloys emerge from the fusion of different metals – sometimes two,
sometimes a dozen, with the aim of optimizing some of the elements’
properties or generating entirely new ones. Again and again, the key
demand is that the alloys should withstand mechanical, thermal or
TK Magazine | 1 | 2004 |