BöHler-Uddeholm AG

BÖHLER-UDDEHOLM AG

Black Ox, six lofts, $169. Black oxide finish rusts, for optimum feel. www.mizunousa.com 800-333-7888.The buildup to World War II led Böhler to open a new facility, a steelworks at Deuchendorf, in 1938. By 1944, the company had expanded its capacity again, installing a press with a force of 1,200 tons. Yet World War II, and especially its aftermath, were to have far-reaching consequences for Böhler.WILSONBRZ, three lofts, $167. Designed with aluminum-bronze compound and high copper content for soft feel. www.clevelandgolf.com 800-999-6263.Following the war, the Soviet Union launched a policy of confiscating the "German-owned" businesses within its zone of control. Because of Austria's active participation in the Nazi alliance, a large number of Austrian companies, including Böhler and other members of the country's steel industry, now fell under the Soviet Union's definition of a German-owned company. This definition included all businesses founded in Austria following the Anschluss of 1938, as well as companies that had been taken over during the war years by the German-Austrian government. Altogether, the businesses threatened by the Soviet Union's confiscation program—which involved the stripping bare of these businesses, transporting their machinery and equipment for use inside the Soviet empire—accounted for some 20 percent of Austria's total economy. In addition to the steel industry, the "German" definition targeted the country's banking industry, including its three largest banks, as well as its coal and metals mining industry, its oil refining and extraction businesses, as well as the country's leading industrial companies.Modecenterstrasse 14/A3 A-1030 Vienna Austria Telephone: 43 1 798 69 01 Fax: 43 1 798 69 01 Web site: http://www.bohler-uddeholm.comPublic Company Incorporated: 1991 Employees: 11,800 Sales: EUR 1.93 billion ($2.2 billion) (2004) Stock Exchanges: Vienna Ticker Symbol: BUD NAIC: 333992 Welding and Soldering Equipment Manufacturing; 331111 Iron and Steel Mills; 331221 Cold-Rolled Steel Shape Manufacturing; 331491 Nonferrous Metal (Except Copper and Aluminum) Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding; 332111 Iron and Steel Forging; 332116 Metal StampingSlow cooling of Sn-Ag-Cu and SnAg-Cu-X (X = Fe, Co) solder-joint specimens made by hand soldering simulated reflow in surface-mount assembly to achieve similaras-solidified joint microstructures for realistic shearstrength testing, using Sn-3.SAg (wt.%) as a baseline. Minor substitutions of either cobalt or iron for copper in Sn-3.7Ag-O. 9Cu refined the joint matrix microstructure, modified the Cu^sub 6^Sn^sub 5^, intermetallic phase at the copper substrate/solder interface, and increased the shear strength. At elevated (150degC) temperature, no significant difference in shear strength was found in all of the alloys studied. Ambient temperature shear strength was reduced by largescale tin dendrites in the joint microstructure, especially by the coarse dendrites in solute poor Sn-Ag-Cu.The merger of Austria's Böhler and Sweden's Uddeholm in 1991 brought together more than six centuries of experience in metals production. Uddeholm grew from the first iron forge in Sweden's Värmland region, built in Stjärnfors in 1668. That forge was already known as Uddeholms Bruk and led to the later formation of Uddeholm AB.INTRODUCTIONCLEVELANDIn 1870, Albert and Emile Böhler purchased the Bruckbach mill, laying the foundation for one of Austria's major steel producers. The company's original name was Gebrüder Böhler & Co. Over the next decades, Böhler expanded strongly, in part through acquisition—in 1894, for example, the company acquired the Kapfenberg mill. In 1940, Böhler acquired the Gerstlmill, which specialized in the production of cold-rolled strip steel and galvanized steel.An asymmetric four-point bend (AFPB) test 16 determined the shear strength of each solder-joint specimen ata strain rate ofO..1 mn/min. and at 22degC and 150degC. The microstructure of the as-solidified solder joints was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on metallographic specimens that were polished and lightly etched with 0.25 vol.%HCl in methanol.BÖHLER-UDDEHOLM AG (Böhler-Uddeholm) is a world-leading specialty steels and materials manufacturer focused on four core niche markets: High-Performance Metals; Welding Consumables; Precision Strip; and Special Forgings. The company's largest division is its High-Performance Metals division, which is the world's leading producer of tool steel—used in the creation of tooling dies and molds—and the world's number two producer of speed steel, used for drill bits and other related applications. The company's Precision Strip division holds top global positions for the production of bimetallic strips, cutting and creasing rules and rule die steel, which the group's Welding Consumables division ranks third worldwide. Formed through the merger of Böhler in Austria and Uddeholm in Sweden at the beginning of the 1990s, Böhler-Uddeholm operates additional production facilities in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, and Belgium. The company distributes its products to more than 100 countries, generating revenues of EUR 1.93 billion ($2.2 billion) in 2004. Böhler-Uddeholm, formerly controlled by the Austrian government's BO industrial holding company Osterreichische Industrieholding AG (OIAG), has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995 and completed its privatization in 2003.

The Austrian government reacted quickly, passing new legislation in 1946 nationalizing all of its "German" companies. Yet the first Nationalization act, while protecting the businesses in the zones controlled by the British, French, and Americans—which respected Austria's claim—remained ineffectual in the Soviet zone. The nationalization of the remaining industries and businesses nonetheless gave the Austrian government oversight of the distribution of reconstruction aid provided by the United States in particular. In this way, the government was able to subsidize its nationalized businesses and aid in the reconstruction. Over the next decades, government control proved less than efficient; after a number of crises, the government instituted a series of reforms in the 1960s, leading to the creation of a new public limited company, Osterreichische Industrieverwaltungs AG (later Osterreichische Industrieholding AG, or OIAG), in 1970.

Author: M. Cohen