Schoeller-Bleckmann#

Schoeller-Bleckmann, traditional Lower Austrian-Styrian steel company. In 1862 the Vienna wholesaler A. von Schoeller bought the Theresienhuette foundry in Ternitz; in the same year the industrialist J. H. A. Bleckmann bought a hammer mill in Muerzzuschlag. In 1924 the two companies were merged to form the "Schoeller-Bleckmann Stahlwerke AG". The company´s business boomed in World War I and World War II; in 1946 Schoeller-Bleckmann was nationalised ( Nationalisation). From 1975 to 1987 the company formed part of the Vereinigte Edelstahlwerke (VEW); during that time its capacity was drastically reduced. In 1990 Schoeller-Bleckmann was incorporated in the Austrian Industries AG and, after the group was dissolved, attached directly to the Oesterreichische Industrieholding AG (OeIAG). As part of their privatisation programme Schoeller-Bleckmann was divided into several operative units and sold in 1993-1995. The largest of these companies are S.-B. Edestahlrohr AG, headquarters in Ternitz, global group turnover ATS 1 billion in 1998, 430 employees, export share 95%, since 1999 75% owned by the Spanish company Tubacex S. A. and S.-B. Oilfield Equipment AG, also headquartered at Ternitz, taken over by Berndorf AG in 1995 and listed on the EASDAQ in Brussels. The firm manufactures products for directional drilling for petroleum and natural gas. In 1998 it employed 620 staff worldwide and achieved a group turnover of ATS 1.4 billion.

Literature#