Mr. Marc T. Oehler, CEO, BILSTEIN GROUP, commented: “For the BILSTEIN GROUP, MetalForm China 2019 is an excellent opportunity to continue to develop our footprint in Asia and we are very excited to further enhance our extensive portfolio in the region with some highly innovative products.”

New to the region are Supermod® and Ultramod® – cold rolled steel products that also feature electromagnetic properties. Electromobility – in particular electric cars – is considered a global megatrend. Manufacturers are under pressure to produce electric cars that will fast become a rival to the combustion engine. In the interim, efficient automatic drive and hybrid vehicles are commonplace, which require new electromagnetic components and applications to ensure that the technology is flexible and economical enough to act as a useful solution for the coming years.

Supermod® and Ultramod® are ideal for electromagnetical actuators such as pressure control valves and magnetic pods for multiway valves for automatic drive, for example. In electric trains they can be used to create magnetic relays. The steel has the advantage of being highly formable, with variable dimensions and tolerances possible that are independent from the established norms. In addition, flexible production processes mean there is considerable potential for product customization and small lot sizes in line with individual customer needs. And: to reduce the process cost of users, components will also not require annealing after production as this process is incorporated into the products’ properties.

BILSTEIN TRADING (SHANGHAI) will also be introducing BILSTEIN GROUP´s wide rolling concept to the region, which delivers cold rolled steel in wider formats to the same quality levels as standard widths and supports the market trend towards lightweighting and higher strength materials. Operations at Bilstein’s brand new Hagen-Hohenlimburg (Germany) site will commence later this year, bringing certified wide rolled strips to the Asia region’s portfolio for use in demanding applications such as thrust bearings and seat rails. State-of-the-art technology will be deployed, including a highly specialized measuring and control system, to produce perfectly flat strips across the entire length and width of the steel – up to 1350mm (width).

Mrs. Zita Kokas, Managing Director BILSTEIN TRADING (SHANGHAI), commented: “The efficiency of our cold rolled steel solutions is already appreciated by our customers. The increased technical opportunities of our new wide rolling stand in Germany and electromagnetic solutions like Ultramod® and Supermod® are now offering new business perspectives to our markets. We are excited to be bringing these solutions to the Asian marketplace and strongly believe that MetalForm China 2019 is the perfect platform from which to launch these products in the region. “