Our History
The grandfather of today's Managing Director, Hermann Klein, regarded it as his responsibility to supply the people in the Erndtebrück region with steel and metal products. He founded the EEW Group in 1936, at that time still under the name "Erndtebrücker Eisen- & Blechwarenwerk GmbH & Co." and from 1952 as "Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk".
High-quality pressure vessels of all kinds, such as fuel oil tanks, gas cylinders, boilers, silos, large buoys, special trailers for cars and motor vehicles or tanks for tanker trucks were manufactured at EEW from 1952 onwards. Before that, such products could only be obtained via expensive transport costs from the neighboring Siegerland.
Over the last decades, this small metal goods factory with just a handful of employees has grown into an international company. Today, our employees produce and sell longitudinally welded steel pipes - technically highly sophisticated - for the offshore wind and oil & gas industries at six production sites in Germany, Asia and the USA as well as numerous sales offices located elsewhere.
The company and the projects have grown - but the values remain the same. Even in today's international company, there is a family atmosphere like in the company's founding days. Today, our greatest goal is still to optimize our customers' projects with our products and to make them successful. Like our founder, we are committed to our customers and offer them customized solutions for their constructions.
Today
As a global team, we at EEW are going forward to open up new dimensions for the energy supply of tomorrow. More than 2,000 employees manufacture pipes and pipe components for high-technical and forward-looking projects. At our headquarters in Erndtebrück, as well as in our worldwide production plants and sales offices, we strive to go forward every day.
2021
EEW Holding GmbH & Co. KG takes over the central corporate management of the entire EEW Group. The new company, located in Erndtebrück, coordinates the standardization and quality assurance within the EEW Group and thus ensures a central project organization, uniform processes and clear organizational structures for our customers and business partners.
2020
The EEW Group is the first company in the global Offshore Wind Supply Chain to announce the start of construction of a production site in the USA. The newest member of the EEW Group called EEW American Offshore Structures (EEW AOS) is located at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal in Gloucester County in the state of New Jersey. With its ideal location on the Delaware River and direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, the facility is strategically located to supply the growing US Offshore Wind market with high quality monopiles.
2018
In 2018, the production line for clad pipes in the headquarters in Erndtebrück was significantly expanded and optimized. New machines and state-of-the-art measuring equipment along the production line, guarantee production of clad pipes to the highest customer and product requirements. By taking this step, the plant in Erndtebrück has established its position as a competence center for the production of clad pipes.
2015
EEW KHPC (EEW Korea Heavy Pipe Construction) is founded as the second plant in South Korea. The Korean plant specializes in the production of structural pipes and the assembly of pipe structures with a maximum length of 80 m and weighing up to 300 tons. From the Gwangyang site, which is located in close proximity to the seaport, EEW KHPC can easily serve the attractive markets in Asia and America as well as in the Middle and Near East.
2009
With EEW Malaysia, a second foreign production site is founded. The company site is located in an excellent position in the industrial area of Tanjung Langsat near Pasir Gudang on the south coast of Malaysia with access to the local harbor. The production program of EEW Malaysia includes both structural and line pipes. In the same year, EEW builds its own mechanical engineering company, WELDEC (now AWS Schäfer Technologie GmbH.), in order to meet the company's own high standards for the quality of welding machines.
2008
With production start of EEW Special Pipe Constructions in Rostock, EEW enters the then rapidly increasing renewable energy sector. EEW SPC is one of the world's leading manufacturers of monopiles, which serve as foundation piles for offshore wind turbines. In 2020, EEW SPC delivered its 2,000th offshore wind foundation and has been a major contributor to the expansion of the offshore wind industry since its foundation in 2003 as EEW Offshore Wind Constructions.
2005
In order to improve the production of thin-walled pipes with large diameters the production line in Erndtebrück was expanded. The heart of this production line is a 12m 3-roll plate bending machine. This additional production line increased the production output in Erndtebrück by another 25,000 tons per year.
2001
In 2001 EEW goes global. With the foundation of a plant in Sacheon on the south coast of South Korea, EEW becomes an internationally operating group. The first phase of EEW Korea starts with the production of 6.1 m long pipes. In 2004, the second phase is completed with the installation of a 13.2m production line.
1995
In 1995, a CNC burning machine is installed. In this way, the "Point-to-Point" service is created at EEW. This service includes the prefabrication of ready-to-install pipe components, from engineering to pipe production to the organization of transport. Today, the "Point-to-Point" service is not only used by the manufacturers of offshore jackets, but also for the production slug catchers and civil constructions such as bridges.
1994
The year 1994 represents a turning point in the history of EEW. As the demands for pipes and specifications are increasing, the owners decide to install a state-of-the-art production line, the heart of which is a 13.2 m bending press. The investment is a large step forward and makes EEW a world leader in the production of longitudinally welded steel pipes.
1982
The production of longitudinally welded pipes is so successful that the facilities in Erndtebrück soon become too small to meet the increasing demand. EEW buys factory buildings on the neighboring site, which is today's headquarters.
1977
Paul Gerhard Hein, father of today's shareholder Christina Dietze, takes over 50 percent of the company as partner and co-Managing Director. The company is renamed Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co.
1974
During the oil crisis in 1974, EEW, under the leadership of the new managing director Jörg Schorge, today shareholder and father of Christoph Schorge, changes the production program and from now on manufactures double-sided submerged arc welded steel pipes. EEW supplies these pipes not only to the mechanical engineering industry, but also to the offshore industry in the North Sea, which was just growing at that time. As of 1976, only pipes are produced.
1952
EEW originally operated under the name "Erndtebrücker Eisen- & Blechwarenwerk GmbH & Co." Now the name changes to Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk Hermann Klein & Co. GmbH. From 1950 to 1973, EEW mainly manufactures steel fuel oil tanks.
1936
EEW is founded by Hermann Klein, the grandfather of Christoph Schorge, one of the current managing directors of the EEW Group. In the beginning, EEW does not only produce pipes, but pressure vessels of all kinds such as fuel oil tanks, gas cylinders or tanks for tanker trucks.
