The plant Donawitz anno 1935

History:

1837 - First flat rails

1850 - First rail heads

1857 - Already an annual production of 9.000 tons according to the method by Peter Tunner in Zeltweg

1869 - First rails made of SM-Steel (SM = Siemens-Martin-Steel making method)

1900 - Donawitz build SM steel plant an takes over the rail production form Zeltweg

1928 - Production start of wear resistant rails, rails made of electric arc furnace steel in Donawitz

1954 - ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) and SBB certify LD-rails

1976 - Linz enters into experimental continuous caster production of blooms in S900A grade which are rolled in  Donawitz

1980 - The bloom caster in Donawitz ist commissioned

1982 - Donawitz produces rails of continuous casting as first enterprise in Europe

1990 - Donawitz produces head hardened rail (HSH-rails) from the rolling heat, being the first supplier world wide of 120m long rails

from 1990 - Full modernisation and capacity extension of finishing and dispatch facilities

1991 - Splitting of the Donawitz location in three operational companies (rails, steel, wire rod)

1994 - Commissioning of the world wide most modern rail stockyard which can handle rails up to 120m length. The stockyard is computer controlled and managed by a single person

2000 - Commissioning of the LD oxygen compact steel mill in Donawitz

2002 - Commissioning of the second fully automatic long rail stockyard

2003 - Approval for the building of the new rail rolling mill in Donawitz

2005 - Building start of the new rail rolling mill

2006 - Beginning of February  commissioning of the most modern rail rolling mill worldwide