Badische Stahlwerke GmbH, Germany: From outage to breakthrough

Both furnace transformers at Badische Stahlwerke GmbH (BSW) failed bringing production to the brink of a standstill. Siemens Energy developed an innovative on-site repair solution in close cooperation with BSW. Within a few months, production was resumed using the originally defect transformers, securing continued operations.

In June 2025, Badische Stahlwerke experienced a double failure of its furnace transformers. The impact was severe, resulting in significant production losses and the risk of a complete shutdown. With only older, lower-capacity transformers available, business continuity was at serious risk.

A fast and sustainable solution was urgently needed to secure energy supply and maintain competitiveness.

The transformer service team in Nuremberg reacted immediately. Their approach involved an innovative on-site repair of the third-party transformers using components salvaged from the damaged units. For three months, two Siemens Energy technicians and four Badische Stahlwerke employees worked hand in hand with trust, creativity, and technical excellence.

On 17 October 2025, the repaired transformer returned to operation. Replacing the lower-capacity fallback unit with the restored, higher-capacity transformer enabled full production on one line.

Then came a unique challenge: the connection lines to the tap changer had to be rebuilt. The “open-heart” operation succeeded, and by December 2025, the second transformer passed all tests and was successfully commissioned on January 5, 2026.