This firm was formed in 1930 through the merger of Heddernheimer Kupferwerk und Süddeutsche Kabelwerk AG and Berg-Heckmann-Selve AG at the prompting of the Metallgesellschaft AG, who held prominent shareholdings in both firms. The capital of the new company was RM 30,000,000, and at the outset it operated factories in Hedderheim, Gustavsburg, Mannheim, Nürnberg, Köln, Altena, Werdohl and Duisburg.
The facilities of the Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke in 1930 comprised:
Werk Altena – Metal finishing
Werk Duisburg – Copper and copper alloys
Werk Frankfurt – Copper, copper alloys and specialty metals
Werk Gustavsburg – Aluminium and other light metals
Werk Hedderheim – Copper and copper alloys
Werk Köln – Metal finishing
Werk Mannheim – Aluminium and other light metals
Werk Nürnberg – Metal finishing
Werk Werdol – Copper and copper alloys
In the early 1930s the Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke undertook the production of propellers for the expanding German aero industry, and in 1932 opened a factory in Aschaffenburg to specialise in their manufacture.
In 1933 nickel-working plants were acquired in Laband and Schwerte, and a subsidiary, Vereinigte Deutsche Nickelwerke AG, was organised to consolidate their activities and expand their production capacity. A second subsidiary, Aluminiumwerke Nürnberg GmbH, was organised the following year to erect a major aluminium smelting facility in that city. To further expand the fabrication of light metal components for the aircraft industry a third subsidiary, Vereinigte Leichtmetallwerke AG, was organised in 1936, and opened plants in Bonn and Hannover-Linden.
In 1938 it acquired the shares of the Continentale Metall GmbH of Frankfurt, a firm involved in the development of plastics for a variety of applications, and in 1939 it took a half-interest in the Vereinigte Aluminiumgiessereien Villingen GmbH, an aluminium stamping works.
Subsidiary companies of the firm include:
Aluminiumwerke Nürnberg GmbH, Nürnberg (primary aluminium manufacture)
Continentale Metall GmbH, Frankfurt (plastics)
Vereinigte Aluminiumgiessereien Villingen GmbH, Villingen (aluminium fabrication)
Vereinigte Deutsche Nickelwerke AG, Laband (nickel and specialty metals)
Vereinigte Deutsche Nickelwerke AG, Schwerte (nickel and specialty metals)
Vereinigte Leichtmetallwerke AG, Bonn (light metal components for aircraft)
Vereinigte Leichtmetallwerke AG, Hannover-Linden (light metal components for aircraft)
Affiliated companies of the firm include:
In Germany
Vereinigte Wiener Metallwerke AG, Wien (copper and copper alloys)
Abroad
Aluminium Ercbanya es Ipari Reszvenytarsasag, Budapest, Hungary (Bauxite mining)