Thyssen Krupp has announced its decision to build a new forging line at its Homburg site in Germany’s Saarland region.

The companywill invest some 80 million euros in the new facility to produce forged front axles for trucks, and long-term delivery contracts have already been signed with truck manufacturers (www.thyssenkrupp.com).

This production expansion represents the biggest single investment ever made at the company’s Homburg site.

Alexander Becker, CEO of the Forged Technologies business unit at Thyssen Krupp, said: “Our customers have made a conscious decision to place their orders with our Homburg site in order to secure the reliable supply of these specialised parts in Europe in times of international customs risks and rising logistics costs.

"This will allow the Homburg site to demonstrate its production expertise, product quality and delivery performance in the international market-place.”

The plant has long been one of the most efficient production sites in Thyssen Krupp’s global forging network.

It is market leader for forged crankshafts, supplying automotive customers world-wide; the production of truck front axles will open up a new market for the company.

Moreover, these components are powertrain-independent and will continue to be needed even when e-mobility starts to make greater inroads into the transport sector.

The centrepiece of the new highly automated and digitised forging line in Homburg will be a 16,000-tonne capacity forging press some 10m high and weighing 1,700 tonnes.

Franz Eckl, COO of the Forged Technologies business unit, said: “The main press of the new forging line will be the world’s first eccentric press of this size, capacity and output to go into operation.

"It will produce around 360,000 forged components a year and will not be restricted to one product; in addition to front axle systems, this forging line will be able to produce crankshafts and other forged parts as required.”