We are happy to pass on the knowledge of steel we have gained in our years of daily work with the various grades. So today the topic is hot-rolled steel. We want to explain in easily understandable words how it is produced and where it is used - then you can make your own preliminary selection of the right steel grade for your project.
Regardless of that, we are happy to advise you without obligation as part of our ordering process. It does not matter whether, as a private customer, you need just a single sheet, or, as a key account, want to commission series production. As a competent partner, we are happy to stand by your side. But now back to the actual topic: hot-rolled steel.
What is hot-rolled steel?
It is the umbrella term for steel that has undergone forming under great heat. While cold rolling is done at room temperature, hot rolling requires a temperature of at least 1,100° C. Steel is called hot-rolled steel, regardless of its grade, once it has passed through this process.
Rolling becomes necessary because the steelworks can only cast blocks - it is not possible to pour molten steel directly into the shape of an end product. All steel blocks must therefore pass through a rolling mill, where large, very heavy rollers act on the steel. Steel can be rolled to the desired material thickness, and if desired, a pattern can even be embossed into the sheet through hot rolling.
How is hot-rolled steel produced?
Two components are needed for steel to be hot-rolled. Temperature plays a decisive role: the steel must be heated to at least 1,100° C, which requires a great deal of energy. In return, somewhat less force is needed for rolling. A major advantage is that preheating ensures consistently identical working conditions: a fluctuating ambient temperature plays no role, which is why a well-adjusted hot rolling line can work very quickly and efficiently.
Because of this efficiency, hot rolling is used above all for mass-produced products. One must accept, however, that deformation at high temperatures causes slight deviations after cooling - this process is not so well suited to products with very low deviation tolerances.
What distinguishes this steel?
If you look at the advantages of hot-rolled steel, the typical uses follow directly. Often it is above all the price that stands out to customers as a property of hot-rolled steel and leads to the purchase decision.
- Increased product service life
- improved performance
- lighter, stronger products
From the perspective of rolling mill operators, too, hot-rolled steel has several advantages, all leading to higher efficiency than with cold-rolled steel:
- Reduction of total operating costs
- processing steps can be simplified
- risk-reduced processing through repeatability
- higher material yield
Where does our knowledge come from?
So that you understand why we are experts in steel, we would like to tell you our company history. It all began in 1908, when the Berlin-Burg railway was founded. A great influence on our company was the decision to open a rolling mill in 1937 - because we rolled steel ourselves for many years, we have corresponding experience with hot-rolled steel.
The rolling mill was closed by Georgsmarienhütte in the 1990s. Although we were dependent on suppliers from then on, it allowed us to concentrate fully on becoming a stainless steel service centre. Since 2013, we have been a family-run, medium-sized company.
Thanks to extensive investment, we have been able to position our company profitably. At the same time, our capacities were considerably increased, so that we can hold a stock of more than 2,000 tonnes of steel sheet to respond flexibly to our customers' wishes. With a team of 35 employees, we can handle small and large orders quickly and reliably.
This is what you may expect from us
Everyone who needs individual sheets and sheet products is addressed by us as a customer. We do not want to depend on a few key accounts and therefore made sure during our restructuring that we can handle smaller orders economically. We are proud to be able to offer you too products made of hot-rolled steel.
Quality always comes first with us - and yet, thanks to high efficiency, we work very fast. We have set ourselves the goal of handing every order over for dispatch within 48 hours, and we succeed almost every time - even though we really do manufacture every sheet to customer order and keep no stock of finished products. So the time factor is no real argument for taking on the cutting and processing of hot-rolled steel yourself.
Our production is divided into three areas. It always begins with cutting, because we buy sheets in large coils to achieve the lowest possible purchase prices. Depending on the customer's wishes, our products then also pass through the forming department: we have invested in bending and folding machines so that we can offer absolutely uniform made-to-measure stainless steel profiles. In our third work area, we take care of surface treatment, with various processes such as grinding, foil protection and pickling to choose from.
Ordering hot-rolled steel from us is this easy
At the risk of being thought a little old-fashioned, we have nevertheless decided not to be an anonymous online shop. Contact with our customers matters to us, because stainless steel sheet is a product that needs advice - which, with us, is of course completely free and non-binding. Our customers have very different requirements for stainless steel products, and as experts we know exactly when steel 1.4541 is the best choice and what to look out for with stainless steel edge protection.
The various alloys are characterised by quite different material properties. As a layperson, you cannot know them all, and we are happy to support you with our expertise. In practice, that simply means we ask you a few questions about your project and can then immediately make a recommendation - far better than spending money unnecessarily because the sheet you bought is unusable for the planned purpose.
Our advice is completely without obligation. Nor do you have to wait days for a quotation from us: in the very first conversation, we can quote you the price for your individually manufactured sheet. If you decide to order straight away, the parcel with your hot-rolled steel sheet will be on its way to you within two days. The only exception are special requests, which we gladly fulfil but which sometimes take a few days longer - for example, if you want to order stainless steel in an unusual international grade.
+49 3921 72-0