History
SHW Casting Technologies GmbH have been established in 2002 by splitting-off the Koenigsbronn Plant and the Wasseralfingen Foundry from Schwaebische Hüttenwerke GmbH (SHW).
The beginning of Koenigsbronn reaches back to 1365 which makes it the industrial company in Germany with the longest history. Being founded by Zisterzensien monks, the plant belonged to the Dukes of Wuerttemberg later, and with the coronation of Friedrich I. it became the "Royal Foundry". The first casting in chills for a gun barrel is documented in Koenigsbronn in the year 1665. Chilled cast-iron rolls have been manufactured since 1832, and the first calender roll for a paper machine was finished three years later.
Since then, the Koenigsbronn Plant has specialized in calender rolls for the paper industry and has become the world leader in this field. More than 75.000 chilled rolls have been manufactured in 170 years.
Koenigsbronn has pioneered the application of heated calender rolls for improving the smoothness and the gloss of paper. More than 2.500 rolls with volume displacers (V-Type) and more than 1.500 rolls with peripheral bores (P-Type) for the thermal fluid (water, steam or thermal oil) have been supplied to paper machine manufacturers and paper mills worldwide.
About two out of three heated calender rolls in state of the art paper machines are marked with the "royal crown" - the Koenigsbronn inspector's stamp, the proof of having passed all rigid quality checks.
Koenigsbronn Plant around 1800
History