RINGSPANN supplies quality solutions for drive systems in the steel and metal industry

When steel slabs from continuous casting are formed into strips, plates or profiles, this is often done using drive elements from RINGSPANN's one-stop shop. This is because many plant manufacturers in the steel and metal industry have now discovered that they can get many important key components of drive technology from a single source. Above all others, it is currently manufacturers and operators of continuous casting lines, hot and cold rolling mills, slitting-lines, pinch roll drives and straightening machines, as well as surface finishing systems like pickling-lines, who are taking advantage of the advantages of this full range of products.

Bad Homburg, August 2026. – „Semi-finished products and primary products for the steel and metal industry are heavyweights whose handling, processing and finishing always require the use of great forces. For the implementation of the drive systems required for this, not only plant manufacturers in industry but also operators and maintenance staff for these installations therefore need high-quality components designed for heavy-duty requirements. A large selection of these drive elements can be found in the RINGSPANN one-stop shop. Its constantly growing range of products, which is geared towards the steel industry, currently consists of gear- und grif-couplings, drive shafts, shaft-hub connections, overload and safety couplings, freewheels, as well as industrial brakes and braking systems. All these components are available on demand in numerous versions and can be combined in many cases to create ready-to-assemble smart solutions. "For example, we often put together customer-specific combination solutions consisting of safety couplings with cardan shafts, freewheels with cardan shafts, or disc brakes with matching couplings and brake discs," explains Markus Berger, Managing Director of RINGSPANN Austria. In addition, the company offers a range of services such as a repair service for cardan shafts – including third-party makes. In this way, the designers of drive trains for rolling mills and slitting-lines, or the brake systems of crane hoists, receive professionally coordinated and ready-to-install component kits; buyers of plant manufacturers, on the other hand, save considerable procurement effort, as they can reliably obtain many drive-relevant machine elements from a known – and internationally certified – source.

Broad portfolio, high availability

However, the current breadth of its portfolio means that RINGSPANN is not only able to provide key drive components for many central process stages in steel and metal processing. On the basis of its high level of vertical integration, its consulting expertise and its development know-how, the company is also in a position to support its customers as a technology partner in the long term. Implementation of customer-specific configurations and special solutions is also an integral part of the RINGSPANN portfolio. In addition, thanks to strategically designed storage capacities, and also to its international presence – the Group now has 22 companies worldwide – the company is able to guarantee the high availability of almost all components. "In view of current supply chain problems, this is an enormous advantage for every plant manufacturer," emphasizes Markus Berger.

The market is growing, but...

Overall, analysts expect the global steel and metal processing market to grow to about $14 trillion by 2030. That sounds huge at first. However, since at the same time a declining number of steel mills, metallurgical and processing plants is to be expected, sales opportunities for plant manufacturers and equipment suppliers in the industry will be reduced. This leads to tighter predatory competition, in which it is of crucial importance for plant and mechanical engineering companies to know that reliable and broad-based suppliers with an international orientation are at their side. "It is precisely against this background that RINGSPANN is an attractive partner for manufacturers of hot and cold rolling mills, casting lines, splitting and cut-to-length lines, straightening systems, coil handling and conveying systems, and surface finishing systems. With our broad-based and technologically sophisticated product portfolio, our international presence and interdisciplinary industry knowledge, we offer OEMs the high degree of security and flexibility they need to continue to implement competitive machine and plant solutions in the future," says Markus Berger. ms