The year 1974 saw a breakthrough in steelmaking when Sweden’s SSAB introduced the world’s first bendable wear plate.
A unique combination of strength and durability helped solve the issue of brittleness in conventional abrasion-resistant steels, which were nearly impossible to bend, and could not withstand heavy impact in use. Hardox 400 was the first user-friendly wear plate with mechanical properties that allowed it to be cut, bent, welded and machined in the workshop.
SSAB then introduced Hardox 450, further positioning the product as the wear-resistant steel of choice which came a wide variety of applications. When Hardox 500 Tuf was released, it was adopted as the new standard for wear plate even in freezing conditions. Today, Hardox is produced in Sweden, the USA and Finland.
SSAB is now furthering the ongoing development of this product with its first-ever emission-free steel in the Hardox range — SSAB Zero.
The new version of Hardox wear plate retains all its qualities but produced using recycled steel in a process powered by fossil-free electricity and biogas – resulting in virtually no carbon emissions during the steelmaking process.
In other news, Scan Global Logistics’ (SGL) is strengthening its Canadian operation.