Tata Steel is celebrating its birthday. The country's biggest steel manufacturer is celebrating its 100th anniversary. And they certainly don't let that go by unnoticed. Last Thursday, King Willem-Alexander gave the starting signal for the anniversary year in which all kinds of celebrations and events are planned.
King Willem-Alexander opened the celebration of the steel company's 100th anniversary in IJmond last Thursday. The King did so by opening the book in the large tent on the festival site, in which 100 stories of employees, local residents, customers and suppliers have been chronicled. Prior to that, the King visited the Innovation Centre on the site, where the R&D laboratory explained how researchers develop special types of steel for use in cars. This involves steel that is very strong, ensuring maximum occupant safety. The high strength of the steel also makes cars lighter and thus more economical. After the opening ceremony, the King talked to a number of employees and residents of the steel company who contributed to the 100 personal stories. The King was received by Theo Henrar (Board Chairman Tata Steel Netherlands) and Hans Fischer (CEO Tata Steel in Europe) in the presence of T.V. Narendran (CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel Limited).
World class
"I am proud of the fact that we have managed to be at the top of the global steel industry for 100 years," said Theo Henrar, chairman of Tata Steel Netherlands. "We are leading when it comes to the quality of our products as well as when it comes to sustainability. We have achieved this because we have always invested heavily in innovation, both in product and process areas. But the most important success factor is our employees. Their passion, enthusiasm and perseverance have brought us where we are today. And I am grateful to them for that," Henrar said.
"Our steel company in IJmuiden occupies a unique place, both literally and figuratively," said Hans Fischer, CEO of Tata Steel in Europe. "Thanks to the vision of the founders, we have the best possible logistics connections to bring in raw materials and provide customers around the world with high quality steel. And we can deliver those qualities through our relentless focus on developing products that add high value for our customers. In the US, 'Dutch steel' is synonymous with top-quality steel. And we remain ambitious. We want to make Tata Steel in Europe the steel company that is sustainable in all respects," Fischer said.
Party of the century
The 100th anniversary of the steel company in IJmuiden will be celebrated in a big way. A special festival area of 13,000 m2 has been created on the Tata Steel premises, with Europe's largest tent (capacity: 4,000 people), a 33-metre Ferris wheel, four different tents with music and karaoke, a fountain bar and ten food trucks. There will be 12 major events for employees, pensioners, relations, local residents, customers and suppliers until 5 October. Some 40,000 guests are expected in total. A spectacular show with visual effects, a 40-piece orchestra and 17 dancers led by top choreographer Gerald van Windt (Idols, Holland's Got Talent, Everybody Dance Now and X-Factor) has been developed for the parties. The anniversary show will be performed nine times.
Eye-catcher
One of the eye-catchers on the festival grounds at the start of the anniversary activities was the 3D cake of the steel company's site in IJmuiden, which the first guests could enjoy. The cake was made by master pastry chef Hidde de Brabander. The cake measured 1.90 x 1.30 metres. Its manufacture took 135 hours. In total, it contained 45 kilos of chocolate, 35 litres of whipped cream, 15 kilos of marzipan, 12 litres of egg, 8 kilos of sugar and 6 kilos of flour.
World of steel
From a small company, Tata Steel in IJmuiden has grown in 100 years into a veritable world of steel. The site is now the largest contiguous industrial complex in the Netherlands, covering 750 hectares. The site is home to dozens of plants and installations, connected by 100 kilometres of rail, 80 kilometres of road and 55 kilometres of conveyor belts. Tata Steel is a fully integrated site, where all processes, from the pre-processing of raw materials to the coating of steel coils take place on one site. Tata Steel in IJmuiden is among the top steel companies in the world when it comes to making steel with the lowest possible CO2 emissions. Tata Steel in the Netherlands has 10,000 employees, 9,000 of whom work in IJmuiden. Tata Steel in IJmuiden produces around 7 million tonnes of steel annually, which is shipped to customers around the world.
Merger
In the background, Tata Steel is still working on a possible merger with Germany's ThyssenKrupp. The IJmuiden-based company wants to merge its European operations with ThyssenKrupp's steel division. The merger was announced in June, but sinceiden it remained fairly quiet around the deal. Moreover, there were some internal struggles at the German company. Behind the scenes, however, work on the merger is in full swing, the management told the Financieel Dagblad. In particular, approval from the European competition authorities is still awaited.
During ESEF earlier this year, we made a short video (click on the image below) on the Tata Steel stand. We spoke to a mechanical engineer at the time:
Source: Tata Steel/AD.nl
