On November 16th, roughly 300 people converged in Borlänge, Sweden to take part in the first day of the 2011 Swedish Steel Prize event – Experience Day. Designed as a way of discovering more about the potential of high strength steel, this year’s Experience Day was more valuable than ever. Participants could choose from two programs of events and those choosing the mill tour were not disappointed.
With a total of 8 tour stops, Mill Tour participants had the unique opportunity to see the ins and outs of the entire SSAB production facility in Borlänge and also were able to meet face to face with specialists from SSAB to ask questions and learn more about the added value that SSAB offers customers.
Participants saw the SSAB testing facilities, met representatives from the Knowledge Service Center, learned about the New Possibilities SSAB provides with recent investments, walked through the Hot Strip Mill, met SSAB specialists and saw Products and Applications from each SSAB brand of steel. They also experienced the Cold Rolling Mill, measured energy savings with Prelaq Energy and saw the brand new Cut to Length Line.
It was a long day, but a fulfilling one that both participants and SSAB employees considered a success.
“This year, there have been more participants then ever and they are happy to get the chance to speak with specialists from every product area,” explained Gani Mohammad Abdul, Business Development SSAB. “Personally, I have introduced many customers to our new Instant Value Calc software and the response has been great. Some where even able to get a printout showing what they could save by changing steel grades.”
And when asked what he enjoyed most about the mill tour, one participant immediately mentioned the continuous annealing line in the cold rolling mill as his favorite.
“It was absolutely amazing to see such a huge machine that does in 15 minutes what used to take three days. I was also very impressed with the automation and cleanliness I saw around the entire mill. It has been an excellent day and I can recommend it to others.”