Do you want your equipment to do more with less? For exceptional performance under extreme loads, Strenx^® performance steel from SSAB can help your equipment last longer and stay stronger – and take your business to new heights. Customers across a range of industries, from agriculture to heavy transport, lifting and construction, are making their vehicles stronger yet lighter with high-strength steel grades that outperform mild steel and  other grades below 700 MPa in the toughest of environments.

Read on to find out how!

The steel you build your vehicles with will impact your business

In operations that involve industrial components in tough working environments, equipment must often be able to withstand, affect, abuse, vibration, compression, and tension. High-yield strength steels are designed to work under these load stresses without causing equipment failure, while providing maximum strength at a lighter weight.

In addition, transportation companies are under pressure to reduce costs and use more fuel-efficient vehicles. Using higher strength steels instead of conventional steels can drastically reduce the weight of vehicle parts. This means that less energy is needed to power the vehicle, leading to reduced fuel consumption and even lower CO2 emissions while payload is increased.

Steels with yield strengths above 550 MPa are often called advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). They are innovative steels with carefully selected chemical compositions that result from precisely controlled heating and cooling processes. They can deliver the right balance of strength, and toughness. These are steels of the future – strong and engineered to meet the challenges of today’s and tomorrow’s vehicles.

The bottom line is this: The material chosen to produce heavy goods vehicles and equipment strongly affects the performance and total cost of these vehicles.

The benefits of steel with a high yield strength

Strenx^® 700 steel is a structural-grade steel with a minimum yield strength of 650-700 MPa depending on the thickness. It has proven successful in trucks and trailers, cranes and hoists, agricultural equipment and in other applications that need stronger yet lighter structural sections.

When considering the costs of purchasing and fabricating steel for your equipment, the price per ton of different steel grades does not give a full or correct picture of total costs. With Strenx® 700 and higher grades, you can reduce the sheet thickness and use less steel, gaining substantial cost reductions in both material and processing costs. Using thinner steel gauges in the workshop helps you reduce the costs of cutting and welding. During welding, you can reduce the volumes of deposited weld material and thus the weld consumables and weld times.

Steel with a yield strength of 700 MPa can be stressed much higher than a S355 steel. This means thinner dimensions can be used at the same load levels or the load level can be higher if the same dimensions are used. Either way, higher yield strength will improve both production and performance.

Other benefits include:

• Get higher lorry payload and reduce the number of trips needed – boosts productivity

• Enable cranes, booms and lifting equipment to reach farther and higher but also to lift heavier

• Save on fuel consumption thanks to a lighter structure

• Improve your environmental footprint with less steel used

• Meet tougher restrictions on maximum vehicle weight allowed on the roads

SSAB´s high-strength structural steel: Strenx® performance steel

Strenx^® high-strength steel is available in variety of grades and in thicknesses from 0.7 to 160 mm. These high-strength steels have excellent formability and weldability, so they can be fabricated with ease in the workshop. When you use Strenx®, with its high quality, high durability and higher strength compared with conventional alternatives, you are making an investment in the future of your business.

The Trailmax experience

South African trailer manufacturer Trailmax benefits from using Strenx^® 700 steels. The company uses Strenx® performance steel as part of its overall strategy to keep pace with the challenges of a dynamic industry, where it needs to adapt to changes in the export market, the economy and other macro factors that impact their business.

Trailmax performed extensive R&D testing of Strenx^® before going into production. They reported the following final results after adopting this stronger yet lighter steel:

• An innovative design achieved

• Up to 30% less trailer weight

• Higher payloads, quicker to unload

• 50% longer service life than trailers made in mild steel

• Improved safety

These are the main advantages you can gain when upgrading trailer chassis components from industry standard to Strenx^® performance steel. Trailmax also benefits from being an accredited member of the My Inner Strenx^® program. The program has helped them gain exposure that is more international and provides priority access to technical expertise from SSAB. The My Inner Strenx^® logo on their trailers shows customers that their trailers represent true quality and value for money.

Can you upgrade a 4,000-year-old design?

Today’s trailers have inherited the traditional chassis design from the first ox-drawn carts made roughly 4,000 years ago. However, there has been some progress since then, even if it has taken a long time. It is only in the last 150 years that steel has been used in vehicle structures, and AHSS was introduced about 30 years ago.

Today’s heavy road vehicles and equipment are facing tough demands on both transport and cost efficiencies. This is why AHSS has seen so much success recently in these applications. SSAB is at the forefront of the evolution in high-strength steel design. We can help you upgrade your steel and improve the equipment design – without compromising quality or safety – to harness the power of this innovative steel. By using Strenx^® performance steel and smart designs, you can produce stronger, lighter vehicles that take your business to new heights.