AFRICAN FUSION—MARCH2014
27
Rebranding of Böhler product range
B
öhler can trace its history back
to 1846, to a hammer forge
established on the site of the
currentBöhlerSteelmill inKapfenberg.
In2007voestalpine, thecurrent owner,
acquired the company and established
Böhler-Uddeholm AG.
Uddeholm began in a small steel
mill in Stjarnsfors, Sweden, in 1668.
In1976, the company bought ASSAB,
(AssociatedSwedishSteelsAB),which
has a longhistory in its own right, hav-
ing been established to sell a range of
special steel products.
In South Africa, Böhler-Uddeholm
Africa was established in Isando in
1961, over 50 years ago, as a supplier
voestalpine BöhlerWelding
repositions its brands
To simplify its portfolio for the global and Africanmarkets,
voestalpine BöhlerWelding is rebranding its product
offerings to reflect three distinct market areas: Böhler
Welding for new-buildwelding consumables; UTP
Maintenance for refurbishment and cladding consumables
and products; and Fontargen for brazingmetals, alloys
and consumables.
African Fusion
talks to René Elfering,
managing director, voestalpine BöhlerWelding, Nederland;
andHelmut Ulrich, managing director, Böhler-Uddeholm
Africa and voestalpine Stamptech South Africa.
of special steel and welding consum-
ables. The company quickly started to
offer specialist heat treatment services
to provide a ‘one-stop’ solution to cus-
tomers in the tooling industry.
“In Europe we have a 25%market
share in welding. But in Africa, voes-
talpineBöhlerWelding is not achieving
these levels of success, so we have
decided to reposition our brands to
better suit the African and southern
African markets,” says Elfering. “To
work inwelding, you have to be a little
bit crazy,” he suggests. “Wemake steel
plates, tubesandweldingconsumables,
butwe sell constructions.On their own,
plates and tubes are useless. It is only
when you combine themwith welding
processes that youcreateproducts that
are useful,” he explains.
“Traditionally, ours is the more so-
phisticatedendof the steelmarket,”he
continues. “We focus on the power, oil
and gas, petrochemical, mining, sugar
andconstructionvehicle industries, and
weseeAfricaasacontinentwithgrowth
potential in all these areas.
“Throughacquisitionsandmergers,
we have accumulated many different
brands over the years, and these are
confusing themarket.We are therefore
consolidatingall our products into three
clear brands to servicedifferentmarket
needs: new-build andOEM fabrication
needs; repair, refurbishment and shut
down needs; and the market for sol-
dering and brazing alloys and fluxes,”
Elfering reveals.
Ulrich explains, “As a welding
company, we are linked to voestalpine,
a strong name in South Africa in rail
trackandswitchingequipment andalso
in the tool anddie industrial segments,
represented by Böhler-Uddeholm Spe-
cial Steel division,” continues Ulrich.
“The aim is towork together to sell arc
welding consumables to companies
within the group. Voestalpine is cur-
rently setting up a new factory in East
London to produce pressed structural
parts and door frames for Mercedes
Benz. Phase one involves assembly
frompressedparts fromGermany,with
components being brazed, welded or
glued together. Presses and tooling for
the pressings will follow.”
“Today, Böhler-Uddeholm Africa is
themarket leader in southernAfrica for
René Elfering, managing director, voestalpine Böhler
Welding, Nederland, the RSO responsible for African
growth.
The T-PUT and Thyssen brands will be consolidated under the Böhler brand name, which
will become the new global division for all joining consumables for new build work.
