Mindener Stahlhandel GmbH

In October 2009 – at a time of the greatest global economic crisis since the Second World War – Mindener Stahlhandel was founded with great courage and entrepreneurial foresight. Today, the company is one of the largest and most modern reinforcing steel companies in Germany. The company delivers up to 350 tons of steel every day and sources all of its raw materials from Germany. After the Eberswalde steel trade was established in 2013 to improve coverage, the Minden steel trade was barely able to meet the growing demand with its existing capacities just one year later. The company management therefore decided to relocate and expand the business. This was scheduled for December 2014.

At the new site at Potsdamer Straße 18 in Minden, the Minden steel trading team was expecting a 32,000 square meter area with more than enough space for the planned new production hall, a single-storey warehouse and a two-storey administration building. When it came to awarding the construction contract, the Minden-based steel trader was able to draw on a wealth of resources: its customers include many construction companies, precast concrete plants and building materials dealers. In addition to the reliability and responsiveness of the construction partner, one wish in particular was decisive in the selection process: “We wanted to take care of the new building ourselves as little as possible,” explains Frank Hägermann, Managing Director of Mindener Stahlhandel. One good reason for this request was the tight, industry-specific schedule for the new construction and relocation measures: “We supply around 200 construction companies in the region. In our industry, a move is really only an option between Christmas and New Year,” says Hägermann.

Even before the construction project, Depenbrock and Mindener Stahlhandel were no strangers: As a customer from the very beginning, Depenbrock has enjoyed a trusting partnership with the Minden-based company for many years. After three months of intensive consultation with the Depenbrock team, the decision was made in favor of Depenbrock – also based on the experience gained from previous collaboration. Frank Hägermann knew: “Architecture, statics, construction, turnkey construction – with Depenbrock we get everything from a single source. We had complete confidence that our project would run smoothly.” Accordingly, Depenbrock also took on the planning of the technical building services for all service phases. One important aspect: the optimal lighting of the entire complex using LEDs.
This perception was confirmed during the construction process: construction work began in June 2014 under the leadership of Depenbrock as general contractor. “The agreed completion date was December 18, 2014,” recalls Frank Hägermann. “Depenbrock was able to complete the work ten days earlier. We delivered the first 100 tons of steel on 5 January 2015 and 200 tons on 6 January. We would make the same decision again at any time.” The buildings at the new site are also perfectly designed for future expansions – for example, with consoles concreted onto the halls. This means for the Minden steel trade: If demand continues to rise as it has in recent years, additional capacity can be created on site comparatively quickly and cost-effectively.