2019 Salzgitter
The 10th SEC Technology Tour took us to the area around Braunschweig on 30 September 2019. The programme included a visit to the flat steelworks in Salzgitter and an evening tour of Braunschweig’s historic Magni quarter with the night watchman 'Hugo'.
At the visitor centre of Salzgitter AG’s flat steelworks, a film provided an introduction to the plant and flat steel production. We then travelled by bus across the extensive plant site to the blast furnace. There, we were lucky enough to witness the spectacular tapping of the blast furnace. After being separated from the slag, we followed the molten pig iron to the steelworks, where huge converters turn iron into steel. The molten steel is then cast in the continuous casting plant to produce semi-finished products such as slabs. The slabs then enter the rolling mill, which stretches for several kilometres, where powerful rollers roll the steel blocks into a sheet strip. At the end of the line, this is guided onto rollers at speeds of up to 70 km/h and wound into coils. After this exciting tour of the plant, we returned to Braunschweig.
In the early evening, Uwe von Grabowski led us past the old town hall, Braunschweig Palace and the Rizzi House to meet the halberd-wielding night watchman Hugo in the historic Magni quarter. With 'Hugo', we walked through the Magni quarter and listened with delight to his knowledgeable, entertaining and amusing commentary in the Braunschweig dialect. Hugo knew stories about almost every house and, of course, about the church. The ninety-minute tour passed in an informative, vivid and amusing way. It ended in high spirits with a hearty Mumme meal at the rustic 'Das Anders' restaurant. Mumme is a beer speciality from Braunschweig.