2019 Salzgitter
On 30 September 2019, the 10th SEC Technology Tour took us to the area around Brunswick. The programme included a visit to the flat steelworks in Salzgitter and an evening tour of Brunswick’s historic Magni quarter with the night watchman “Hugo”.
At the visitor centre of Salzgitter AG’s flat steelworks, a film introduced us to the plant and flat steel production. We then travelled by bus across the extensive plant grounds to the blast furnace. There, we were lucky enough to witness the spectacular tapping of the blast furnace. After the slag had been separated, we followed the molten pig iron to the steelworks, where iron is turned into steel in huge converters. The molten steel is then cast in the continuous casting plant to produce semi-finished products such as slabs. The slabs then enter the kilometre-long rolling mill, where powerful rollers roll the steel blocks into a sheet that is guided onto rollers at the end of the line at speeds of up to 70 km/h and wound into coils. After this fascinating tour of the plant, we returned to Brunswick.
In the early evening, Uwe von Grabowski led us past the old town hall, Brunswick Palace and the Rizzi House to meet the halberd-wielding night watchman Hugo in the historic Magni quarter. Together with “Hugo”, we made our way through the Magni quarter, listening with great enjoyment to his knowledgeable and whimsically entertaining explanations in the Brunswick dialect. Hugo had stories to tell about almost every building and, of course, about the church. The ninety-minute tour passed in an informative, vivid and entertaining way. It ended in high spirits with a hearty Mumme menu at the rustic “Das Anders” restaurant. Mumme is a beer speciality from Brunswick.
