We see a huge potential of Hardox® and Strenx range in India.

Sharad Rastogi
Director, SSAB India.

High strength steels are lighter, stronger and sustainable and should be preferred over mild steels.

SSAB is a global market leader in high-strength steel and has a wide product portfolio which includes a number of unique steel grades. The Hardox® brand has the highest awareness of all brands in the steel market. “We foresee a tremendous growth potential for high strength steels in India for long term,” states Sharad Rastogi, Director, SSAB India. In a free-wheeling chat with EQUIPMENT TIMES Rastogi talks about the market potential and advantages of using high strength steel.

Could you brief us on the latest upgrade on the Hardox 500Tuf – its properties compared to the Hardox 400, 450 & 500 grades?

Hardox® 500 Tuf wear plate is the latest upgrade in the Hardox range. It delivers high strength, extreme hardness, guaranteed toughness and excellent bendability. Hardox® 500 Tuf combines the best properties from Hardox® 450 and Hardox® 500. The result is a wear plate with no real competition on the market

How process-friendly is the latest upgrade? Can we use the same tools and machinery for this? Also throw some light on the welding process

As it is clean steel it is a process – friendly. Bending we can use same tools and machinery as Hardox 450, welding process same recommendation as Hardox 450.

What is the guaranteed impact energy value compared to earlier grades? Does it have any bearing on the relative service life?

Hardox® 500 Tuf has high impact toughness even at freezing temperatures. All thicknesses have guaranteed impact energy of 27 J at -20°C (20 ft-lb at -4°F). For 20 mm plate the typical value is 45 J at -40°C and Hardox 500® Tuf can deliver double the service life compared to Hardox 400® according to calculations with WearCalc and TippCalc for sliding wear with granite

What are the major application areas for the Hardox range and what has been the acceptance level by the OEMs globally, and also in India?

Hardox® is wear resistant steel, so it finds application wherever we experience wear of steel used in a component / equipment. All equip­ments in construction and mining sectors involved with handling and transportation use Hardox® wear resistant steels. Hardox® is undoubtedly the most preferred wear resistant steel world over, including India.

Elaborate us on Strenx range and its properties and application areas?

Strenxsteel products are range from 600 to 1300 MPa. With Strenx steel, trailer manufacturers can specify more payloads, truck owners can cut down on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Crane operators can improve their business by reaching higher and
farther. Farmers can cover more acres in a day. In all, Strenx performance steel helps to reduce weight, increase payload, use less fuel and improve sustainability. It is perfect for designing trailer chassis and other transportation products which makes it stronger, lighter and safer.

What are the advantages of using your range of high strength steel for tipper bodies and buckets?

The conventional way of approach to build tippers and buckets is by using thick mild steel plate with large numbers of stiffeners for example, but while this gives the appearance of robustness, it is actually counterproductive. It makes the vehicle/ application weak and inefficient due to poor steel properties and high mass. The smarter solution is to use high strength steel and the result of a multipurpose tipper with high capacity is a stronger, lighter and more cost-effective to build and operate.  Hardox® wear plate for example is produced in a carefully controlled steelmaking process to deliver the best combination of high hardness and high toughness.

This allows the construction of a significantly stronger tipper body that is also lighter than a conventional design. By removing the stiffeners, the entire wear plate can absorb shock, making best use of the steel’s properties. A tipper body built with Hardox® 450 needs fewer parts and is made of thinner material. This reduces overall production cost compared to a tipper body in A36/SAE1020 steel. This also results in shorter lead times and reduced risk of production issues that cause expensive secondary costs for repairs, corrections and inspections.

Which are the major global OEMs in India using these high grade steel in CV sector, especially for heavy duty trucks and in earthmoving equipment?

All major global OEMs use these high grade steels in India. 

How do you assess the potential for Hardox and Strenx range in India?

We see a huge potential of Hardox® and Strenx range in India. Our sales volume growth has been directly proportional to the growth in earthmoving and mining equipments.

Compared to the global markets what are the factors that dent the increased use of high strength steel in India? Is cost a major deterrent?

All multinational OEMs use high strength steels extensively. Cost is a deterrent in some applications with some OEMs but the mind set is gradually changing. High strength steels are lighter, stronger and sustainable and should be preferred over mild steels.

As these high grade steels are not manufactured in India what are the challenges you face in terms of logistics, tax etc?  How do you assess the impact of GST in India?

Since, we have to import these steels; the time taken for logistics is a concern especially for the first order. Post that steels are received in a replenishment mode with help from efficient planning. GST has been quite useful for India and will ease local logistics further.

What is the current overall demand-supply scenario for high strength from different verticals?

The current demand is being met with help from imports and that is likely to continue in future. We foresee a tremendous growth potential for these steels in India for long term future. 

Brief us on the strengths and competencies of SSAB and your global footprint?

SSAB is a global market leader in high-strength steel and has a wide product portfolio which includes a number of unique steel grades. The Hardox® brand has the highest awareness of all brands in the steel market. The business model allows for close collaboration with large OEMs, as well as with smaller and mid-sized customers through a global organization which includes local stocks, technical customer support, engineering and processing services. This more advanced approach helps to differentiate SSAB from most other larger steel companies. SSAB is responsible for production of Q&T steels in Oxelösund (Sweden), as well as for sales of Q&T steels and AHSS made in mobile, Alabama (USA), Raahe (Finland) and Borlänge (Sweden).
In total, there are nine SSAB
production lines globally that can produce high-strength steels, which provides for flexibility and ability to grow volume.

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