Rohrwerk Maxhütte

Rohrwerk Maxhütte GmbH (RMH) was a German steel company based in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Bavaria, specialising in the production of seamless steel pipes primarily for the energy sector. It was one of only four German producers of seamless steel pipes and, until 2000, formed part of the Maxhütte group in Sulzbach-Rosenberg. The company traced its origins to a supervisory board decision of the Eisenwerk-Gesellschaft Maximilianshütte mbH, then part of the Friedrich Flick Group, to build a pipe works; the Rohrwerk was founded in 1954. In 1959 it set a world record by producing a seamless pipe 16 metres long. In 1972 it became the first to manufacture rolling bearing pipes using the push bench process followed by forming in a stretch reducing mill. In the early 1980s a annealing furnace was installed at the plant. After the Maxhütte filed for insolvency for the first time in 1987, the Neue Maxhütte Stahlwerke GmbH (NMH) and Rohrwerk Neue Maxhütte GmbH emerged in 1990, owned by the mining companies Thyssen, Krupp, Klöckner & Co and Mannesmann as well as the Bavarian state. In 1993 the Freilassing-based construction entrepreneur Max Aicher joined the company. Following a second insolvency of the Maxhütte in 1998, the pipe works was rescued by the Max Aicher Group through a transferring reorganisation effective 1 January 2001. In 2003 it was entered in the commercial register as an independent company under its current name Rohrwerk Maxhütte GmbH; from 2000 it had operated as a legally dependent branch. Under the Max Aicher Group the production facilities were modernised and expanded. In 2010 a third cold pilgering machine was purchased to increase the size range and production capacity, especially for premium products, with a total investment of over three million euros. On 6 July 2015 Dirk Mahnke, chairman of the management board since 2013, unexpectedly left the company; Stefan Weniger took over shortly afterwards as interim restructuring manager. Works council chairman Karl-Heinz König regretted Mahnke's departure and called on owner Aicher for new investments, citing omissions by the Aicher family. In 2018 around 2.5 million euros were invested in a new 1,000-tonne piercing press, enabling higher block weights and the forming of high-alloy steels. In June 2021 Callista Private Equity acquired the pipe works. On 3 December 2021 the company filed for insolvency (self-administered restructuring proceedings) at the Amberg insolvency court. The causes were supply bottlenecks for input material leading to production stoppages and a slump in sales; the Corona pandemic and rising steel and energy costs put pressure on the plant, compounded by material shortages and logistics problems. The Russian-Ukrainian war further aggravated the situation across the industry. On 15 June 2022 it was announced at a works meeting that two investors had firmly committed. On 22 June 2022 the insolvency administrator stated that contracts were ready but not yet signed. On 4 July 2022 the administrator announced that the British Mertex Group would become the new owner, taking over the business operations through a transferring reorganisation. The new owners brought a large order volume and planned further investments at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg site. On 1 September 2025 it was announced that the pipe works would finally cease operations. The company produced seamless steel pipes through hot pipe manufacturing and cold pipe production for various applications. Its main products were boiler pipes, steam pipes and threaded pipes, bloom pipes and rolling bearing pipes, as well as mechanical engineering and turned-part pipes and pipes for the transport of water and liquids.

The Rohrwerk Maxhütte traces its origins to a supervisory board decision of the Eisenwerk-Gesellschaft Maximilianshütte mbH, then part of the Friedrich Flick Group, to build a pipe works. The Rohrwerk was founded in 1954. In 1959 it set a world record by producing a seamless pipe 16 metres long. In 1972 it became the first to manufacture rolling bearing pipes using the push bench process followed by forming in a stretch reducing mill. In the early 1980s an annealing furnace was installed at the plant. In 1987 the Maxhütte filed for insolvency for the first time. In 1990 the Neue Maxhütte Stahlwerke GmbH (NMH) and Rohrwerk Neue Maxhütte GmbH emerged, owned by the mining companies Thyssen, Krupp, Klöckner & Co and Mannesmann as well as the Bavarian state. In 1993 the Freilassing-based construction entrepreneur Max Aicher joined the company. In 1998 the Maxhütte filed for insolvency for the second time. The pipe works was rescued by the Max Aicher Group through a transferring reorganisation effective 1 January 2001. In 2003 it was entered in the commercial register as an independent company under its current name Rohrwerk Maxhütte GmbH; from 2000 it had operated as a legally dependent branch. Under the Max Aicher Group the production facilities were modernised and expanded. In 2010 a third cold pilgering machine was purchased to increase the size range and production capacity, especially for premium products, with a total investment of over three million euros. On 6 July 2015 Dirk Mahnke, chairman of the management board since 2013, unexpectedly left the company; Stefan Weniger took over shortly afterwards as interim restructuring manager. Works council chairman Karl-Heinz König regretted Mahnke's departure and called on owner Aicher for new investments, citing omissions by the Aicher family. In 2018 around 2.5 million euros were invested in a new 1,000-tonne piercing press, enabling higher block weights and the forming of high-alloy steels. In June 2021 Callista Private Equity acquired the pipe works. On 3 December 2021 the company filed for insolvency (self-administered restructuring proceedings) at the Amberg insolvency court. The causes were supply bottlenecks for input material leading to production stoppages and a slump in sales; the Corona pandemic and rising steel and energy costs put pressure on the plant, compounded by material shortages and logistics problems. The Russian-Ukrainian war further aggravated the situation across the industry. On 15 June 2022 it was announced at a works meeting that two investors had firmly committed. On 22 June 2022 the insolvency administrator stated that contracts were ready but not yet signed. On 4 July 2022 the administrator announced that the British Mertex Group would become the new owner, taking over the business operations through a transferring reorganisation. The new owners brought a large order volume and planned further investments at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg site. On 1 September 2025 it was announced that the pipe works would finally cease operations.

• 2025

  Announcement on 1 September 2025 that the pipe works will cease operations.

• 2022

  Mertex Group becomes new owner on 4 July 2022.

• 2021

  Callista Private Equity acquires the pipe works; insolvency filing on 3 December 2021.

• 2018

  Investment of around 2.5 million euros in a new 1,000-tonne piercing press.

• 2015

  Dirk Mahnke leaves; Stefan Weniger becomes interim restructuring manager.

• 2010

  Purchase of a third cold pilgering machine for over three million euros.

• 2003

  Registered as an independent company under the name Rohrwerk Maxhütte GmbH.

• 2001

  Takeover by the Max Aicher Group through a transferring reorganisation effective 1 January 2001.

• 1998

  Second insolvency of the Maxhütte.

• 1993

  Max Aicher joins the company.

• 1990

  Formation of Neue Maxhütte Stahlwerke GmbH and Rohrwerk Neue Maxhütte GmbH.

• 1987

  First insolvency of the Maxhütte.

• 1980

  Installation of an annealing furnace at the plant.

• 1972

  First production of rolling bearing pipes using the push bench process and stretch reducing mill.

• 1959

  World record: production of a 16-metre seamless pipe.

• 1954

  Rohrwerk founded as part of the Maxhütte group.

One of only four German producers of seamless steel pipes, focused on the energy sector and premium products.

• Seamless steel pipes

  Produced through hot pipe manufacturing and cold pipe production for various applications.

• Boiler pipes

  Main product for energy industry applications.

• Steam pipes

  Main product for energy industry applications.

• Threaded pipes

  Main product for energy industry applications.

• Bloom pipes

  Main product.

• Rolling bearing pipes

  Main product; first produced in 1972 using the push bench process.

• Mechanical engineering pipes

  Pipes for mechanical engineering applications.

• Turned-part pipes

  Pipes for turned parts.

• Pipes for water and liquid transport

  Pipes for the transport of water and liquids.

1. 1Rohrwerk Maxhütte - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
2. 2Rohrwerk Maxhütte - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Rohrwerk Maxhütte GmbH websiterohrwerk-maxhuette.de