Vitkovice Cylinders A.s.

VTKOVICE CYLINDERS a.s. is an important member of the VTKOVICE MACHINERY GROUP, which comprises more than 60 production and engineering units with annual aggregate sales of 1 billion EUR and employs about 8.500 people around the world. The production of high-pressure seamless steel cylinders in VTKOVICE CYLINDERS a.s. dates back to the year 1906. when the steel cylinders originally designed for compressed gas were produced in the Tube Rolling Mill of seamless tubes. The bottoms and necks were forged in the Forge, heat treated in the Toolshop, machined, tested and assembled in the mechanical workshops. In 1938, the processes of steel cylinder machining, testing and assembly were relocated to the Small Machine Works. In the mid 1942, the new Tools Forge was finished and the old one was adapted to the Cylinder Forge - a new series production was started. The steel production had not been concentrated until 1956, which resulted in increased costs of transport from one hall to another. After the construction of the Cylinder Shop (Lahvrna) in 1956, the production was directed to one centre. In 1981, the hardening shop was reconstructed and in 1988 - 1992 the production of 200-bar steel cylinders was upgraded comprehensively. The series production of 300-bar steel cylinders was started in 1996. In December 2008 a unique production line was introduced that produced steel cylinders by means of a backward extrusion method. This production technology related to steel vessels of such enormous diameters hadnt been used at all until that time. Within the VTKOVICE MACHINERY GROUP are now engaged in production of the steel cylinders companies VTKOVICE CYLINDERS a.s. (based in the Czech Republic), VITKOVICE MILMET S.A. (based in Poland) and CIDEGAS S.A. (based in Argentina). All the three companies work closely together, because their production programs complement each other. With this unique synergy is the VTKOVICE MACHINERY GROUP able to annually produce 1,5 million high-pressure seamless steel cylinders.