Partnership for wind power development:
cooperation between DWK Drahtwerk Köln GmbH and Max Bögl expanded – alliance safeguards quality in construction of hybrid towers

DWK Drahtwerk Köln GmbH (DWK), a Saarstahl Aktiengesellschaft company, concluded a new cooperation agreement with Max Bögl Wind AG on 22 January 2026. The two companies have been working together since 2015. The new agreement significantly increases delivery and purchase volumes and expands their strategic partnership for the coming years.

As a result, Max Bögl has secured its long-term supply of prestressing steel wire for the construction of modern hybrid towers. Prestressing steel wire is used to place the individual concrete sections of each tower under compressive stress, which makes wind turbines stable and resilient.

Max Bögl relies on strong and reliable industrial partners

“Wind energy is a promising market of the future. Demand is growing and our order volume has increased rapidly over the last few years. But in addition to building more towers, we also want to continue living up to our aspiration to be a technology leader. For us, this means ensuring that our towers are durable, ecological and cost-effective. That’s why we rely on strong, reliable partners and high-quality materials,” emphasized Stefan Braun, Commercial Director of Max Bögl Wind AG.

“The new cooperation is set to run for several years, and our shared aspirations are clearly defined: quality, delivery reliability, and technological development. DWK stands for these performance promises,” said Joerg Disteldorf, Member of the Executive Board responsible for human resources at Saarstahl Aktiengesellschaft and Member of the Executive Board responsible for DWK.

Prestressing steel wire as an important element of tower safety

The upper section of Max Bögl’s hybrid towers is made of steel, while the lower section – which can be up to 120 meters high – is made of environmentally friendly concrete. The strength and quality of the prestressing steel wire are decisive in ensuring the stability of the concrete tower. The company manufactures up to 35 individual rings from environmental concrete and stacks them on top of each other with dry joint. To achieve the required stability, Max Bögl produces tendons and uses these to prestress the concrete tower. This prestressing is the most efficient way to transfer the high loads of the turbines through the concrete tower. Max Bögl has been using prestressing steel wire from DWK to manufacture tendons for more than ten years.

“This wire might appear unremarkable but it is of crucial importance. Many years of cooperation with DWK have shown that we can rely on its consistently high material quality. It is therefore clear to us that with this partnership, we are also paving the way for future expansion of wind energy in Germany,” Stefan Braun said.

200 kilometers of prestressing steel wire per tower – growing demand

A hybrid tower has up to 24 tendons. Around 200 kilometers of prestressing steel wire is used to manufacture these tendons. Max Bögl is planning to build even taller towers in the future, which will increase the demand for prestressing steel wire in the coming years. Extending the cooperation is therefore associated with a larger production quota. Both sides benefit from this.

“The long-term cooperation gives us the planning security to target our ongoing investment in new production facilities,” explained Joerg Disteldorf. “This lets us ensure our technology is always state-of-the-art and that we at DWK are able to contribute decisively to expanding renewable forms of energy and to energy security in Europe.”

Caption: A strong team for the energy transition, from left to right: Sebastian Weizer (Head of Central Components Production, Max Bögl Wind AG), Josef Knitl (Member of the Board, Max Bögl Wind AG), Jörg Disteldorf (Member of the Executive Board responsible for human resources at Saarstahl Aktiengesellschaft and Member of the Executive Board responsible for DWK), Tobias Thumann (Head of Purchasing, Max Bögl Wind AG), Stefan Braun (Commercial Director, Max Bögl Wind AG), Andreas Huf (Managing Director, DWK Drahtwerk Köln GmbH), Dr. Nadine Artelt (Sales Director, Saarstahl AG)

About Max Bögl Wind AG

Using sustainable energy sources more efficiently and actively speeding the transition to renewable energy as a result: that’s what the innovative technology solutions from Max Bögl Wind AG stand for. With more than 4,000 towers erected, the company is Germany’s market and technology leader in the manufacture, supply and erection of hybrid towers for wind turbines. It set the record in 2017 for the world’s tallest onshore wind turbine with a hub height of 178 meters. Max Bögl Wind AG is a subsidiary of the Max Bögl Group.

With around 7,000 highly qualified employees at more than 40 locations worldwide and an annual turnover of over 2.6 billion euros, Max Bögl is one of the largest construction, technology and service companies in the German construction industry. With cutting-edge in-house innovations developed for the issues of our time – including renewable energies, urbanization, mobility and infrastructure – the Group is already implementing solutions for the megatrends of our globalized world. Based on many years of experience and expertise in high-precision precast concrete construction, Max Bögl is also positioning itself as a major driving force in the development of innovative products, technologies and construction methods.

www.mbrenewables.com

www.max-boegl.de

About DWK Drahtwerk Köln GmbH

DWK Drahtwerk Köln GmbH uses its state-of-the-art production facilities to manufacture its technically advanced wire products. These include prestressing steel in the form of strands, wire and bar, technical and tempered spring steel wire, rope wire and profile wire, cable armouring wire, cable covering wire, and reinforcement wire – in dimensions ranging from 0.48 to 22.0 mm. These products are primarily manufactured from medium- and high-carbon steels, micro-alloyed carbon steels and SiCr- and SiCrV-based heat-treatable steels. The history of the wire plant in Cologne-Mühlheim dates back to 1873. It has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saarstahl Aktiengesellschaft since 1984.

 www.dwk-koeln.de

www.saarstahl.com