New Delhi  : Outokumpu, Finland based leading stainless steel major   has received three awards for the year 2019  from the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) including two gold-level awards in the categories of New Technology and New Development as well as a silver-level award in the Safety category.

The gold award for best new technology has been  given for the bend-formed body structure of small electrified vehicles. The material properties of the temper-rolled austenitic stainless steel combined with the folding principle halve the number of individual components and welds. This results in a much lighter structure (less than 180 kg) with increased crash safety that is constructed by more simple, cost-effective manufacturing processes with shorter cycle times as well as lower CO2-emissions over the whole vehicle lifetime. The technology was developed together with fka Aachen GmbH.

The gold award for best new development has been  given for the first use of duplex stainless steel Forta LDX2404 in a major bridge building project. The new duplex stainless steel form developed by Outokumpu was selected for the Söderström rail bridges project in Stockholm, Sweden due to its strength and life cycle costs. The final fabrication of the 48 bridge parts and assembly was done by our partner Stål & Rörmontage.

The silver safety award has been  given for  the improvements in material loading and unloading. After analyzing near misses and serious incidents, material loading, and unloading was recognized as one of Outokumpu’s biggest hazards. The problem was tackled in more than one way using the hierarchy system or error proofing theory and creating new ways of working. Outokumpu now has an agreed standard for truck loading and unloading which is being implemented at all sites.