Scrap metal
is not for the scrap heap
“This is for the scrap metal dealer” is a constant refrain can be
heard often. The fact is that something is ready for the scrap
heap, but this does not necessarily mean that it has come to the
end of its useful life. There is still the chance that it could be of
interest to somebody, which is the theme of this story.
Everybody knows that it pays to choose
quality tires. Their road handling depends on
many components. One of them is a metal
component, the so-called cords, which are
manufactured with several items, including
scrap metal from .A.S.A.
But let’s start from the beginning: Pieces of
rail, old pipes, sheet metal, etc. That’s what
the motley pile of scrap metal looks like ac-
cumulating in the yard of SD Kovo in Mladá
Boleslav, which belongs to the group De-
monta Trade SE (
).
The company .A.S.A., a traditional partner
of SD Kovo, has made its contribution to
this pile.
A major portion of the carefully sorted
scrap metal from this yard goes to Třinecké
Źelezárny (Třinec Ironworks) – Moravia Ste-
el. This iron and steel colossus is the largest
steelworks based on Czech capital that
produces the most steel in the Czech Re-
public. Every day the scrap metal entering
the gates here is changed with other admix-
tures into new products for the construction,
engineering and automotive industries. The
scrap is put into the blast furnace of the
mill, melted down, and combined with allo-
ying ingredients to make cast ingots. If the
final product should be wire, it has to be
rolled into different diameters.
Wire is the best-selling product offered by
Třinec Ironworks. The wire then goes to
customers all over the world. They include
ŽDB Drátovna in nearby Bohumín (www.
dratovna.cz). Here, the purchased wire is
manufactured to make steel cords and tire
wire for the automotive industry, cable wires
and lines that are reliably used by skiers in
the Czech mountains or miners in mines,
springs for locomotives and cars, and wire
for manufacturing screws for cars. It’s a
product that’s a part of practically every
step of our process,” says Stanislav Sosna,
ŽDB’s Technical Director: “Every fourth car
in the Czech Republic is driving with screws
made from the wire manufactured in Bohu-
mín.”
Cord wire is used for manufacturing ste-
el cords for automobile tires. It is made of
high carbon steel with high requirements
for quality, testing and inspection. It decrea-
ses during the flow process by drawing its
diameter, adding brass and increasing its
strength, thereby increasing its quality and
fatigue properties. The final shape of the
The Třinec iron
and steel Works is the
largest one in the Czech
Republic
.A.S.A.
