History

1595	Foundation of the "Ilsenburger Kupferhammer".
1829	Acquisition by the merchant and industrialist family Hirsch from Halberstadt.
1839	Foundation of the "Kupferhammer Betriebsgesellschaft".
1841	Commissioning of a water quenching "steel mill" for copper.
1860	Start of manufacturing of fireboxes made of copper for the construction of locomotive engines.
1864	Commissioning of the first refining furnace.
1906	Merger of "Kupferwerk Ilsenburg" and "Messingwerke Eberswalde" into "Hirsch Kupfer- und Messingwerk AG".
1932	Restructuring of "Hirsch Kupfer- und Messingwerke" leading to the foundation of the "Berlin-Ilsenburger Metallwerke AG".
1933	New foundation of the "Kupferwerk Ilsenburg AG".
bis 1945	Constant expansion of operations by the construction of a new rolling mill and electrolysis buildings, shaft furnaces etc. Expansion of the production of fireboxes made from copper and, since 1934, from steel. Copper recycling from scrap material. Rolling of copper and aluminium strips.
1945	Seizure of the "Kupferwerk AG" and integration into the "Industriewerke Sachsen Anhalt" (industrial plant of Saxony-Anhalt).
1948	Founding of nationally-owned enterprise "VEB (Volkseigener Betrieb) Kupfer- und Blechwalzwerk Ilsenburg".
	Start of rolling steel plates.
1954	Commissioning of the duo rolling stand and a new double pusher furnace. Copper production continues on the basis of scrap.
1967	Hiving off of copper production to "VEB Mansfeld - Kombinat Eisleben".
1968	Construction of a new shearing line.
1979-1982	Complete modernization of the mill: construction of a modern heavy plate four-high rolling stand; 2 pusher furnaces, 1 soaking pit furnace, modernization of the shearing line, of the finishing line, the dispatching facilities and automation of the entire rolling line to raise annual capacity to 650,000 t.
1991	Commissioning of a double walking beam furnace
1992	Takeover of the rolling mill by "Preussag Stahl AG" as a subsidiary.
1995	Integration of the "Walzwerk Ilsenburg GmbH" in the "Preussag Stahl AG" and setting up of plate product operations.
1998	Renaming of the "Preussag Stahl AG" as "Salzgitter AG".
2001	Hiving off of the plate product segment to the subsidiary "Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH".