June 2021

R. Bourgeois is one of the world’s leading suppliers of magnetic lamination stacks for OEMs that make electrical rotating machines. These products are used to make rotors and stators – the heart of all rotating machines. These include generators which create electricity and motors which turn electricity into mechanical energy. To create its products, R. Bourgeois relies on ArcelorMittal’s extensive range of electrical steels. Some of these grades, including the high-performance iCARe^® range, are driving innovations in e-mobility and helping automakers to create environmentally friendly solutions for a greener world.

R. Bourgeois has been working with ArcelorMittal and its heritage companies for more than six decades. This long-term relationship was a clear differentiator for the company, especially when electric vehicles first emerged in the early 2000s. “The close partnership between R. Bourgeois and ArcelorMittal enabled us to capture a share of the electrical traction business at an early stage,” notes Raymond N. Bourgeois, the current CEO and grandson of the company’s founder. “Combining ArcelorMittal’s technical expertise and our inhouse skills allowed us to offer OEMs innovative and efficient e-mobility solutions at a time when these products – and skills – were in short supply.”

R. Bourgeois focuses on the production of rotors and stators – the essential building blocks of every rotating machine. The business specialises in making insulated lamination stacks which only need to be wound with copper and assembled by their end customer. The company has also opened a foundry to produce induction motors which don’t require copper explains Raymond N. Bourgeois: “Instead, pure aluminium bars are introduced into slots in the rotor using high-pressure injection. The rotors produced using this method are typically used in asynchronous (induction) motors.”

Around half of R. Bourgeois’ annual production is dedicated to automotive applications. These include electric traction motors which replace the internal combustion engine and use automotive grades from ArcelorMittal’s iCARe^® range. The company also produces standard motors which are used to move auxiliary equipment in the vehicle such as power steering, heat pumps, seats, wipers, and ventilation systems. These motors rely on industrial electrical steel grades. 

Non-grain oriented (NGO) industrial grades are also used in R. Bourgeois rotors and stators which are destined for motors used in domestic and industrial ventilation, backup power systems for data centres, and the generators used to harness energy from renewable sources such as wind. “Renewable on- and offshore wind generation is a fast-growing market for us,” notes Raymond N. Bourgeois. “We have made significant investments so that we can supply the large laminations required for wind energy.”

R. Bourgeois’ mobility customers are now demanding electrical steels which offer the possibility to produce even more efficient motors, explains Raymond N. Bourgeois: “By 2025, mobility will be dominated by battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Fewer hybrids will be produced. OEMs are looking to R. Bourgeois and our electrical steel producers like ArcelorMittal for efficiency breakthroughs, particularly to reduce core losses. This will increase the driving range of electric vehicles and stimulate even higher demand.”

The support of ArcelorMittal is vital to ensure R. Bourgeois remains at the forefront of developments. “With the iCARe^® range we have seen that ArcelorMittal understands the technology and can produce electrical steels with excellent properties,” says Raymond N. Bourgeois. “Our customers use the products we have made with these steels to obtain solutions for the highest motor efficiencies. ArcelorMittal’s offer and expertise brings significant benefits for our clients in that regards.“