MRWheels

The mill in Ostrava city center was founded in 1828 already by archduke Rudolf von Habsburg and named "Rudolfshütte" after him. First coke fired blast furnace was built in 1836.
In 1843 the works were bought by banker Salomon Mayer Rothschild and the first bessemer converter was installed. In 1874 the Witkowitzer Bergbau- und Hüttengewerkschaft was founded.

In 1909 new open-hearth steel making shop was put into operation and Vitkovice ironworks became one of the most progressive producer of construction steel and heavy machinery in Europe. During the second world war the works were part of "Reichswerke Hermann Göring" and after nationalization in 1945 named to "Vitkovicke zelezarny Klementa Gottwalda".

Outdated Talbot furnaces were decommissioned in 1967 and replaced by tandem furnaces. In 1972 3,5m quarto plate rolling mill was put into operation. First (72t) oxygen converter was launched in 1982 and the second one in 1991. Tandem steel plant was cooled down soon after.
After the shutdown of the last blast furnace in 1998, the once famous Vítkovice empire was broken up into several business entities - one of them is the ring rolling mill, which currently operates under the name MRWheels.

The ring rolling mill was manufactured by Braun Schumacher and put in operation in 1909.

Keywords: vítkovice heavy machinery, vítkovické železárny, ostrava, slezsko, česká republika, vitkovice, witkowicz, mrwheels, válcovna obručí, ring rolling mill, industriekultur, industrialni fotografie, industrial photography, 2021

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