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Four pioneering designs are finalists for Swedish Steel Prize 2018

The Swedish Steel Prize 2018 finalists have been named, revealing four innovative design concepts that use high-strength steel to achieve the highest possible performance. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Stockholm on May 24.

"We have nominated four finalists with quite different perspectives on innovation that the jury found mind blowing. They range from completely new product features to applications that challenge traditional design by using modern materials," says Eva Petursson, chair of the Swedish Steel Prize jury and head of SSAB's strategic R&D.

The four finalists are:

• CTE Spa, Italy, has developed a small truck-mounted sky-lift of extraordinary versatility, height, and reach. The compact boom system has a unique, elevated slewing mechanism that provides the added capability of maneuvering around corners, giving access to confined spaces where traditional solutions fail. A carefully considered design as well as the optimization of all boom cross-sections and use of high-strength steel made this possible.
• JAK Metalli Oy, Finland, has invented a unique cutting principle for the clearing of roadside vegetation that provides a much more controlled operation for small trees than conventional chain crushers. The innovative design utilizes the potential of high-strength and wear-resistant steel. This has resulted in a lightweight cutter head that allows for high productivity and a safer work environment, combined with extremely low energy consumption as well as operational costs.
• Mantella S.r.l., Italy, has made a unique design and an innovative solution for a trailer and body combination. It was made possible by skilled design work and smart production methods in combination with the advantages of high-strength and wear-resistant steel. This new, lightweight trailer has improved stability, low operational costs, as well as high transport efficiency.
• Trufab Global, Australia, has created a flexible and lightweight grain auger wagon that uses a modular design concept that features almost no welding. By using modules, final assembly can be done on-site and different sizes can easily be delivered. Maintenance is also simplified. This new chaser bin reduces costs and increases production efficiency for producers as well as end-users.

The Swedish Steel Prize was established by Nordic and U.S.-based steel company SSAB in 1999, and this year will mark the 19th time the prize has been awarded. The winner receives a statuette by the sculptor Jörg Jeschke and a cash prize of SEK 100,000 (almost $12,000). SSAB encourages the winner to donate the cash prize to charity.

Kiruna Wagon was the winner of the 2017 award. The Swedish company beat out 102 contenders from 32 different countries with its Helix Dumper wagon system for long-haul rail transport and efficient unloading of minerals. Kiruna Wagon used high-strength steel to develop a highly durable and far more efficient wagon solution than other ore wagons on the market.

Use of advanced high-strength structural and wear-resistant steels in Kiruna Wagon's Helix Dumper made it possible to design lightweight wagons combined with a stationary Helix terminal for on-the-fly rotary unloading. The ingenious solution has an unloading speed of 25,000 tons per hour, which is twice that of other systems. With its nearly doubled unloading rate, the Helix system is superior to all conventional solutions and solves many problems related to sticky aggregates. For the final design, both Strenx structural steel and Hardox wear-resistant steel were used in the wagon solution.

Source: SSAB

Published April 2018

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