The company says its greater high strength steel choice provides more industries with access to Hardox and means new opportunities for existing customers to develop their products.
Hardox is said by SSAB to be wear-resistant steel with very consistent features that make it easy to process. Not only hard for resisting wear, Hardox is also said to have excellent design attributes in its toughness and formability. The new thinner version is also said to provide even better thickness tolerances and surfaces than classic Hardox.
“The production equipment we have invested in makes it possible to give very thin, as well as very thick steel the unique properties of Hardox,” says Johan Broback who is coordinating SSAB´s launch of the new wider product range.
Broback says the new range is the result of close cooperation with customers as well as an exchange of knowledge between heavy plate production in Oxelösund and sheet manufacturing operations in Borlänge, Sweden.
SSAB says that the new thinner versions come in handy when transporting screws, which can now be made down to 0.7mm Hardox. Other examples include truck beds that can be made lighter by using thinner sheet with the same lifetime. There are also many details on farming equipment that can be made lighter and more durable.
Claes Löwgren, head of business development at SSAB, said the mining industry is an important and expanding market for the thicker Hardox grades.
“The trend for mining machines is bigger and bigger in order to increase efficiency,” says Löwgren.
“Right now, we are developing Hardox with thicknesses up to 160mm together with our customers.”
Hall: 5A Stand: F053
