History

The history of the steel location of Peine began with the foundation of Peiner Walzwerk Incorporated for the processing of pig iron from the nearby Ilseder Hütte: I-sections have been rolled in Peine since 1876.

With the invention and patenting of the Peine beam – a parallel wide flange beam – it was already at the beginning of the 20th century that we earned a reputation which is yet to have lost its resonance today. The 'Peiner' has become a synonym for high quality steel beams and sections and sets standards all over the world. 

 A good reputation was also the aim of Peiner Walzwerker Verein: This association was founded in 1878 already in order to encourage the Peiner community to sympathize with immigrated workers from many different regions. The association has become rich in traditions and is nowadays a solid part of cultural life in Peine.

After World War II had taken its toll on Peiner Walzwerke, the 1950s and 1960s were all about modernization: Besides the expansion of factory buildings, a new basic oxygen steelmaking plant was put into operation and the old Thomas steel mill was shut down. This was a big step towards higher quality and efficiency.

In 1970, state-owned Salzgitter AG integrated its steel department into Ilseder Hütte and simultaneously acquired the majority of shares. Stahlwerke Peine-Salzgitter had been created and was bought a few years later by Preussag AG. We changed our name from Stahlwerke Peine-Salzgitter AG to Preussag Stahl AG until we regained independence as a company with Salzgitter AG’s stock market launch in 1998.