The 2011 Swedish Steel Prize awards ceremony and gala dinner was a huge success. With over 400 in attendance, the evening was kicked off with singing, dancing and entertainment from Fredrik Swahn and the stage was set for celebration.
An excellent dinner was served and after the main course and a little more singing, the lights dimmed and excitement filled the air. It was time to announce the winner of the 2011 Swedish Steel Prize.
As the finalists were presented one last time, speculative whispers were heard coming from every table and then came the announcement. The winner of the 2011 Swedish Steel Prize is… Deere & Company.
Deere & Company won the prize for developing a combine harvester that utilizes high strength steel from SSAB to save weight, fuel and increase productivity.
To meet the new regulations, the company had decided to cut their harvester’s weight by 600 kilograms without compromising quality or capacity in any way. By using high strength steel and redesigning the combine’s front-end header, it was accomplished.
The new harvester’s advantages of reduced fuel consumption, reduced pressure on the ground, and most importantly, increased load capacity will be looked highly upon in the market, as will the fact that it can increase productivity by 15 – 40 percent.
Senior engineer Corwin Puryk and design engineer Kent Brown accepted the prize to thunderous applause and gave an acceptance speech in which they said, “If it wasn’t for SSAB and their support, we wouldn’t be standing here.”
Now, the party really started. Guests moved away from their dinner tables and towards the dance floor where there was dancing, laughing and celebrating long into the night. The 2011 Swedish Steel Prize was the best Steel Prize event yet.