In 1895 Hans Goldschmidt was granted the Imperial patent number 96317 for the aluminothermic process invented by him, which ignited two dramatic success stories: that of Thermit® and the Goldschmidt Group. Did he have an idea of how important his invention would prove to be for modern railway traffic? In fact Thermit®, as it soon turned out, enabled the safe and reliable continuous welding of rails for the first time and this as we know today is an essential condition for comfortable railway travel, for high-speed trains just as with the rail transport of extremely heavy loads.

120 years after the patent application the “Goldschmidt process” still represents the state of the art for the welding of rails and is the standard process with all the major railway companies around the world. Furthermore, it continues to be further developed and improved. Thanks to its constant innovative drive the Goldschmidt Group is today the global market leader with different Thermit® processes for the continuous welding of rails and enjoys global success with a wide range of products and services for the construction, repair, maintenance and renovation of railway tracks. This success story only became possible due to the innovative drive of Prof. Goldschmidt which remains with us today, as future thinking has a tradition at Goldschmidt.

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