Last month, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) awarded Valbruna’s parent company, Italy-based Acciaierie Valbruna Group, an order for approximately 70 tonnes of non-magnetic submarine steel. The agreement enables both parties to explore, develop and implement co-operation in the melting and production of the steel required for modern submarine platforms.
Tim Clutterbuck, Valbruna’s director of corporate relations, said Kiel, Germany-based TKMS approached the company about strengthening industrial collaboration, including in advanced submarine programs such as the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.
He said the stainless steel produced at the Welland factory would be evaluated by the German company to see whether it meets Germany’s Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement technical requirements and naval standards.
TKMS, with a Norwegian partnership, competed with South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean to build Canada’s new submarines. They will replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s aging Victoria-class submarines with as many as 12 conventionally powered, under-ice capable vessels. The project is valued between $44 billion and $100 billion, with TKMS offering the German-Norwegian Type 212CD, while Hanwha Ocean offered the South Korean KSS-III Batch-II.
On Monday, Prime Minister Mark Carney while in Halifax, N.S., announced TKMS as the successful bidder.
The first submarine is set to be delivered in 2033.
Clutterbuck said Valbruna ASW is the only Canadian company that can produce non-magnetic stainless steel for the submarine project.
A screenshot from the TKMS TEAM 212CD website shows a rendering of the new Canadian submarine design chosen by the federal government to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s aging fleet
“We would make the primary product that would be sent to our sister company in Italy to be rolled into a shape that would go into the submarine. We don’t have a rolling mill for that particular purpose. Our parent company has experience making the products because they have a relationship with TKMS already.”
He said non-magnetic stainless steel prevents depth charges or mines from locking onto a submarine’s hull and reduces its detection signature.
Operating under previous names including Atlas Steels, Valbruna has long supplied steel products for military applications.
The facility was conscripted into wartime production by the federal government in both world wars and produced gun barrels, aircraft steel, bullet cores and anti-tank guns. During the Persian Gulf War, Patriot missile guidance system parts were made in Welland.
Components for the Canadarm used in NASA’s space shuttles and the International Space Station, and material for Bruce Power Plant’s rebuild and the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station have also come out of the Welland plant.
“There are so many different areas we’ve participated in and interesting Canadian developments that were somewhat supported, not just from a research and development perspective, but a supply perspective from this facility. This is a continuation of that legacy,” said Clutterbuck.
He’s been promoting the Welland plant as a strategic asset for Canada with its ability to make specialized grades of steel for interesting, innovative technologies and military requirements.
The agreement between Valbruna and TKMS offers a chance for the company to recover business lost in the U.S. market due to tariffs imposed there on Canadian steel.
“I think the Canadian government is doing the right thing relative to trying to rebuild Canada with Canadian products. I’m looking for this to shore us up as a more independent steel company that can survive short periods of geopolitical stress. It’s also building a bit of a national sense of ownership. We’re finding partners in Canada to do things with that we didn’t before.”
