voestalpine

voestalpine survived European steel industry consolidation by exiting commodity steel and focusing on high-performance metallurgy. Founded in 1938, the company nearly collapsed during the 1980s-90s steel crisis as cheap Asian imports and overcapacity destroyed margins. voestalpine's response: divest commodity products, invest in specialty segments (tool steel, railway systems, automotive components) where technical requirements create barriers to entry. This strategy generated $15B+ revenue at 8-10% EBITDA margins while competitors like ThyssenKrupp and ArcelorMittal struggle with 2-4% margins in commodity steel. The lesson: in declining commodity industries, survival requires moving upmarket to niches where technical performance outweighs price, even if it means shrinking revenue.