Dependeq

Dependeq Industrial Plant Engineering GmbH was an Austrian engineering and industrial-technology company headquartered at Palais Fanto on Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna. Established in 1999 by Austrian entrepreneurs Horst Krenn and Herbert Weissenbaeck, the company supplied process-engineering systems and industrial plant solutions principally for the chemical and metallurgical sectors. Its activities were closely connected with steel production and strip processing, where customers require integrated equipment for treating, cleaning, regenerating, and controlling production lines. The company's portfolio included hydrochloric acid regeneration plants, pickling lines for carbon steel and stainless steel, environmental-technology systems, and process-automation solutions. These offerings placed Dependeq at the intersection of industrial machinery, chemical-process engineering, and steel-mill equipment. Rather than operating as a consumer-facing brand, Dependeq functioned as a specialist business-to-business engineering supplier whose value proposition rested on plant design, process integration, equipment delivery, and technical expertise. Krenn and Weissenbaeck had previously held senior executive positions at S.A.D. GmbH, another industrial-machinery company. Their experience appears to have provided the technical and managerial foundation for Dependeq's early development. According to the company's historical account, Dependeq expanded rapidly after its establishment and became an important participant in its specialized international markets. Its name was an invented construction associated with the phrase "dependable equipment," reflecting the founders' intention to create a concise and technically suggestive corporate identity. The company's independent existence ended after its acquisition by SMS group, a Düsseldorf-based industrial group active in metallurgical plant construction and steelmaking technology. By February 23, 2006, Dependeq had been acquired and integrated into the SMS Siemag steelmaking and rolling-mill organization. From May 2006, it operated as SMS Siemag Process Technologies GmbH and served as a competence center for process-plant applications within the Strip Processing Lines division of SMS Siemag AG. The transition moved Dependeq's technologies and personnel into a larger industrial platform rather than representing a continuation of the Dependeq name as an independent operating company. The available historical material identifies Krenn and Weissenbaeck as continuing managing directors after the acquisition while retaining minority interests of 24.5 percent each. The later corporate identity, however, was SMS Siemag Process Technologies GmbH. Dependeq is therefore best understood as a former specialist engineering company and brand whose capabilities were absorbed into SMS group's broader process-technology and strip-processing business.

Dependeq Industrial Plant Engineering GmbH was founded in Austria in 1999 by Horst Krenn and Herbert Weissenbaeck. Both founders had previously occupied senior management roles at S.A.D. GmbH, an industrial-machinery company, giving the new business an experienced leadership base in engineering and industrial equipment. Dependeq was established to serve specialized industrial customers rather than consumers, with a focus on process plants and equipment for the chemical and metallurgical industries. Its principal technologies were associated with the production and processing of metals. The company supplied hydrochloric acid regeneration plants, which are used in industrial acid-management and steel-processing environments, as well as pickling lines for carbon and stainless steel. Pickling is a surface-treatment process used to remove oxides and scale from steel, making the design and operation of such lines important to downstream quality and productivity. Dependeq also worked in environmental technology and process automation, allowing it to address plant efficiency, emissions-related requirements, controls, and the integration of multiple production stages. The business developed an international profile in its specialist markets. Its activities combined engineering design, plant supply, and process know-how, positioning the company as a technology provider for large industrial installations. The name Dependeq was an artificial word associated with the expression "dependable equipment." Company history attributes the idea to Herbert Weissenbaeck, who reportedly considered the construction of short, deliberately created corporate names after encountering examples such as Sony and Compaq while reading Jeffrey Robinson's The Manipulators during a delay at London Heathrow Airport. A major turning point came when Dependeq was acquired by SMS group, a Germany-based industrial group with substantial activities in metallurgical plant construction, steelmaking, and rolling-mill technology. By February 23, 2006, the acquisition had been completed or integrated into the SMS Siemag organization. The transaction ended Dependeq's role as an independent company but brought its process-technology capabilities into a larger group with complementary steel-industry businesses. From May 2006, the business operated under the name SMS Siemag Process Technologies GmbH. It became a competence center for process-plant applications within the Strip Processing Lines division of SMS Siemag AG. This organizational change preserved the relevance of Dependeq's technologies while replacing the original corporate identity with the SMS Siemag name. Horst Krenn and Herbert Weissenbaeck continued as managing directors during the transition and were reported to retain minority holdings of 24.5 percent each. The available material does not establish the subsequent ownership or employment history of either founder. Dependeq's historical significance lies in the consolidation of a focused Austrian process-engineering company into a global industrial technology group. Its legacy is represented by the equipment categories and engineering capabilities transferred into SMS Siemag's process-technology and strip-processing operations, rather than by a continuing standalone Dependeq brand.

• 2006

  Acquisition by SMS group

  [1]Dependeqen.wikipedia.org

  Dependeq was acquired by SMS group and integrated into the SMS Siemag steelmaking and rolling-mill organization by February 23, 2006.

• 2006

  Renaming as SMS Siemag Process Technologies GmbH

  [1]Dependeqen.wikipedia.org

  Beginning in May, the former Dependeq operation functioned under the SMS Siemag Process Technologies GmbH name as a process-plant competence center within the Strip Processing Lines division.

• 1999

  Dependeq was founded in Austria

  [1]Dependeqen.wikipedia.org

  Horst Krenn and Herbert Weissenbaeck established Dependeq Industrial Plant Engineering GmbH to supply process-engineering and industrial-plant solutions for chemical and metallurgical customers.

Specialist business-to-business engineering provider focused on dependable process equipment, plant systems, and automation for chemical, metallurgical, and steel-processing customers.

• Chemical process equipment

  Hydrochloric acid regeneration plants

  Dependeq supplied plants for regenerating hydrochloric acid used in industrial processing environments. This capability was particularly relevant to steel pickling operations, where acid management is an important part of plant economics, process control, and environmental performance.

• Steel-processing equipment

  Carbon-steel pickling lines

  The company designed and supplied pickling lines for carbon steel. These industrial lines chemically clean steel strip and remove scale or oxides before subsequent production stages, requiring coordinated process equipment, handling systems, controls, and supporting plant infrastructure.

• Steel-processing equipment

  Stainless-steel pickling lines

  Dependeq's portfolio also covered pickling lines for stainless steel. Such systems form part of specialized strip-processing plants and were supplied as integrated industrial installations for metallurgical customers.

• Industrial environmental systems

  Environmental technology

  Environmental-technology solutions formed part of Dependeq's industrial-plant offering. The available source identifies this as a business field but does not provide enough detail to specify individual systems, capacities, or product names.

• Industrial automation

  Process automation

  Dependeq provided process-automation capabilities for chemical and metallurgical plants. These systems supported the monitoring and control of integrated production processes, although the available historical source does not identify particular software platforms or control products.

• 2006

  Join SMS group's metallurgical technology organizationM&A

  Background

  SMS group acquired Dependeq as part of its expansion and consolidation of capabilities in steelmaking, rolling-mill, and strip-processing technologies.

  Action taken

  The Dependeq business was integrated into SMS Siemag and subsequently operated as SMS Siemag Process Technologies GmbH.

  Aftermath

  Dependeq ceased operating as an independent corporate identity and became a competence center for process-plant applications in the Strip Processing Lines division. Its founders were reported to continue as managing directors during the transition and to retain minority shares of 24.5 percent each.

  Source

1. 1Dependeqen.wikipedia.org