1977 - 1989

In 1977 Paul Gerhard Hein joined the company as 50% partner and co-managing director, at the same time the name was changed to Erndtebruecker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co.

The production of longitudinally welded pipes was so successful that the production facilities soon became too small to cope with the increasing demand. More and more plates had to be stored in the open and an alternative solution had to be found. A factory belonging to the Hoesch Group, situated on a neighbouring plot, became empty and was put up for sale in 1982. This factory was purchased by EEW who now had Works 1 and Works 2.  Longitudinally welded pipes in single lengths were still produced in Works 1 and Works 2 was used to store the plates and to weld the pipes into multiple lengths. Multiple lengths proved very interesting for the offshore fabricating yards as each submerged arc welded circumferential joint executed under shop conditions was cheaper and quicker to produce than by manual welding on site. With all of EEW’s past fabricating experience Works 2 was soon being used to prefabricate not only legs and bracings but also such things as spreader bars for heavy offshore lifting, followers, tether conduits etc.