For two years, key supplier to one of the world’s largest manufacturers of home appliances

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Final assembly at BSH site in Nauen

Salzgitter Flachstahl has now been supplying BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH for almost two years. With a turnover of approx. 9 billion Euros in 2010 and a workforce of more than 43,000, the manufacturer is one of the leading companies in the home appliances sector worldwide. BSH operates 41 factories in 13 countries around the world with more than 70 companies in 46 countries. The company was founded in 1967 as a joint venture between Robert Bosch GmbH Stuttgart and Siemens AG Munich. In addition to the main brands Bosch and Siemens, the BSH brand portfolio includes seven additional special brands and four regional brands. The product range encompasses large and small home appliances, floorcare and hot water appliances. The Group’s purchasing activities are controlled via Central Purchasing in Munich.

At the BSH site in Nauen, located in the federal state of Brandenburg, approx. 18 km west of Berlin, some 640 employees currently produce about one million washing machines per year. The front and side walls are made from organically coated thin sheet, supplied by Salzgitter since November 2009. The Folastal^® coils have a customized coating suitable for home appliances in BSH white. The color of the material supplied by Salzgitter Flachstahl has to match that of the plastic and metal parts from other manufacturers. As a result, it has to be produced on the strip coating line with the tightest color tolerances. The material supplied by Salzgitter Flachstahl also demonstrates very good formability and high resistance to moisture, detergents and UV radiation.
Environmental compatibility is also particularly important. The material not only has to meet national and European requirements, such as RoHS and the REACH regulation (European regulation for the reduction of hazardous substances), but it also has to comply with the much stricter BSH-specific material prohibition and avoidance lists.

In 2011, BSH is expecting increasing demands in the important markets for home appliances. With a 7 percent growth in sales compared with the first four months of the previous year, 2011 has started well for BSH. An increase in sales of about 5 percent is expected for the year as a whole.