Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG

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Germany's largest flat steel producer, a subsidiary of thyssenkrupp AG, headquartered in Duisburg.

Last updated September 26, 2026

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Overview

Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG (TKSE) is the steel segment of the German industrial group thyssenkrupp AG and Germany's largest steel manufacturer. Headquartered in Duisburg, it produces flat carbon steel products and provides steel-related services. Its core business fields are steel production, the manufacture of flat products from quality steel, and steel services. The company operates through business units Industry, Automotive, Heavy Plate, and Special Products, with Electrical Steel, Packaging Steel (ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein), and Precision Steel (Hohenlimburg) organized as separate subsidiaries. Its main production site is the Duisburg-Nord steelworks, one of the world's largest integrated metallurgical plants, with around 13,500 employees. Cold-rolled flat steel accounts for 70% of the product mix, and 57% of products go to the automotive industry (as of 2014). In 2014, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe and ThyssenKrupp Steel Americas together produced 16.3 million tonnes of steel, with 12.3 million tonnes of crude steel produced in Germany (including HKM share). The company has a long history dating back to the founding of a cast steel factory by Friedrich Krupp in Essen in 1811 and August Thyssen's steel operations in Duisburg in 1891. It has faced challenges including losses in the Americas, failed mergers (with Tata Steel in 2019), and a failed sale to Liberty Steel in 2021. Since July 2024, thyssenkrupp AG holds 80% of TKSE, with the EP Corporate Group of Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský holding 20%. The company is pursuing decarbonization with its bluemint® brand of CO2-reduced steel and plans to build a hydrogen-powered direct reduction plant.

History

The history of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe is rooted in the early industrialization of Germany's Ruhr region. In 1811, Friedrich Krupp founded a cast steel factory in Essen, producing steel according to English quality standards. In 1850, Jacob Mayer, co-founder of the Bochum Association of Mining and Cast Steel Fabrication, invented steel casting, allowing products to be created from liquid steel in their final shape; production at the Bochum site continues today. In 1852, Krupp invented the seamless forged and rolled railroad tire, which became a worldwide bestseller. In 1871, Leopold Hoesch and other entrepreneurs founded the Hoesch iron and steel works in Dortmund, and in the same year, SA des Aciéries du Rhône was established. August Thyssen founded his steel operations in Duisburg in 1891. Over the 20th century, these companies grew into major integrated steel producers. The modern Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG was formed through the merger of Thyssen and Krupp in 1999, creating thyssenkrupp AG. The steel division became Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG, headquartered in Duisburg. In the 2000s, the company pursued a growth strategy in the Americas, building a new steel mill in Brazil (ThyssenKrupp CSA) and a processing site in Mobile, Alabama (Thyssenkrupp Steel Americas). Due to inefficient planning and unsuitable site selection, costs exploded and both plants incurred significant losses. The Alabama plant was sold in November 2013 to a joint venture of ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Industries. The Brazilian mill was sold in early 2017 for €1.5 billion to the Argentine steel group Ternium. On June 30, 2018, Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel signed a binding contract to create a joint venture combining their European steel activities, to be named Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel and headquartered in Amsterdam. On June 11, 2019, the European Commission decided not to approve the merger due to competition concerns. In October 2020, a takeover offer from Liberty Steel Group for Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe became known; IG Metall and the works council demanded state involvement, which was rejected by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal government. In February 2021, talks about the sale were terminated. In May 2017, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe commissioned the world's largest fabric filter system for sinter production in Duisburg, cleaning up to 1.3 million cubic meters of exhaust air per hour. In 2018, a new plant for grain-oriented electrical steel was commissioned in Nashik, India, which had belonged to Thyssenkrupp since 2000; it was sold in October 2024 to a consortium of JSW Steel and JFE Steel. In 2022, a new fire coating plant was put into operation at the Westfalenhütte site in Dortmund. In July 2024, thyssenkrupp AG sold 20% of TKSE to the EP Corporate Group of Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, retaining 80%. The company continues to invest in decarbonization, with its bluemint® brand of CO2-reduced steel and plans for a hydrogen-powered direct reduction plant.

2024
EP Corporate Group acquires 20% stake; thyssenkrupp retains 80%.
2021
Sale talks with Liberty Steel terminated.
2019
EU Commission blocks merger with Tata Steel.
2018
Binding contract signed with Tata Steel for European joint venture.
2017
Brazilian steel mill sold to Ternium for €1.5 billion.
2013
Alabama steel plant sold to ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel joint venture.
2008
Blast furnace 8 inaugurated in Duisburg-Bruckhausen.
1999
Thyssen and Krupp merge to form thyssenkrupp AG.
1891
August Thyssen founds steel operations in Duisburg.
1871
Hoesch iron and steel works founded in Dortmund.
1852
Krupp invents the seamless railroad tire.
1850
Jacob Mayer invents steel casting in Bochum.
1811
Friedrich Krupp establishes a cast steel factory in Essen.

Products and positioning

Germany's largest steel manufacturer and a leading European producer of high-quality flat steel, increasingly focused on sustainable, CO2-reduced steel.

bluemint® steel
CO2-reduced steel brand, to be produced from hydrogen-powered direct reduction plant in the long term.
Multiphase steels
Hot-rolled high-strength multiphase steels for chassis applications.
ZM Ecoprotect®
Zinc-aluminum-magnesium coatings for steel mounting systems, including for agri-PV systems.

Sources6 sources

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