NovosibARZ timber trailers win the fight against tough environments with Strenx® high-strength steel

Strenx® 700, a high-strength steel produced by SSAB, delivers outstanding durability and strength in extreme weather conditions. NovosibARZ, a leading manufacturer of timber trucks and semi-trailers in Siberia, chose Strenx® steel to increase load capacity and reliability.

Tough terrain. Brutal cold. Rough roads, sometimes no roads at all.  Trucks and trailers made by Siberian company NovosibARZ are equally at home in the forest, on the road or on desolate stretches of unpaved paths in unforgiving climates.
The company was founded as a truck repair workshop in 1968 in Novosibirsk, Siberia, when it was part of the former Soviet Union. In the early 2000s it switched gears and began to produce timber semi-trailers. Nowadays NovosibARZ is a market-leading producer of timber trucks and semi-trailers for Siberia and the Russian Far East, following market trends to develop new designs for this demanding industry.

NovosibARZ is a certified partner for top truck brands including Man, Scania and Volvo. In January 2017, it replaced the 10HSND steel grade it previously used for timber stakes, timber bunks and frames with Strenx® 700 from SSAB.

“Today, we use high-strength Strenx performance steel for the timber trailer frames and stakes and for producing superstructures for the Man, Volvo and Scania chassis,” said NovosibARZ CEO, Vadim Ananchenko.

With a yield strength of 700 MPa (101.5 ksi), Strenx® 700 is a high-strength, high-performance steel used when designing and building heavy-duty trucks and trailers. It is part of the family of Strenx® grades having yield strengths from 600 up to 1300 MPa (87–188.5 ksi). It is produced as plate, strip, tubes and sections, in thicknesses from 0.7 mm to 160 mm. The combination of high strength, good formability and weldability as well as high impact toughness allow for minimising a trailer’s weight while maximising load capacity. Reducing weight is crucial, since every pound of deadweight taken off can be transferred into increasing the capacity, reducing fuel consumption and carbon footprint.

Ananchenko adds that the main reason for the switch was the significant improvement in strength and durability offered by Strenx® 700 compared with the previous steel the company used. He says that it resulted in an extended product lifetime by up to 25 percent. In addition, Strenx® 700 can be used in thinner dimensions compared with conventional steel, enabling NovosibARZ to make its timber stakes extra-thin and light.

“NovosibARZ trailers operate in some of the harshest conditions on the planet,” said NovosibARZ CFO, Natalia Ananchenko.

“If our products are going to work efficiently and successfully in places where there is often a complete absence of roads, where temperatures may go down to minus 50 degrees Celsius in wintertime, and where you might need to transport timber for more than 300 kilometres one way, it has to be made of most reliable material.”

“This is why we at NovosibARZ decided to use SSAB’s Strenx performance steel for our most demanding applications,” she said.

The My Inner Strenx® quality program
SSAB certifies timber trailers produced by NovosibARZ under the My Inner Strenx® quality program. This means that the product is optimised to be strong and light for demanding applications, is made using Strenx® performance steel, and has been manufactured according to SSAB-certified design and material specifications. Every unit has a My Inner Strenx® sticker displaying a unique serial number for traceability purposes; this can be verified by scanning the QR code on the sign or contacting SSAB.

Simply the best support customers can get
Trailer manufacturers can achieve impressive results by upgrading from mild steel to Strenx® performance steel, which provides opportunities to develop equipment in a way that was not possible before. Trailers designed using Strenx® steel can have significantly reduced weight, which leads to increased payload, fuel cost savings, lower life cycle carbon footprint and an increase in a company’s bottom line.

Customer support and services drive innovation in steel technology at SSAB. SSAB is passionately dedicated to the business success of each one of its customers. It conducts local customer visits and offers seminars, webinars and development projects globally. SSAB supports customers throughout the process, from material selection of specific products, collaborative design and innovation recommendations to production efficiency recommendations, specialist advice and best-practice guidance. Visit the Strenx for trailers page to get more information.

SSAB in brief
SSAB is a highly specialised global steel company that develops high-strength steels and provides services for better performance and sustainability. It is a leading producer in the global market of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) and quenched & tempered steels (Q&T).

Strenx® performance steel is SSAB´s high-strength structural steel brand. It is called performance steel because it adds performance to trailers beyond ordinary structural steel.

SSAB has stood at the forefront of sustainability in many ways. With confidence deriving from its traditions, SSAB now strives to do even more. SSAB’s plan is to offer fossil-fuel-free steel to the market in 2026 and to eliminate its CO2 emissions by 2045.

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