SSAB’s famous Hardox wear plate is a versatile abrasion resistant steel plate that increases payload and service life in tough environments. Hardox has a combination of strength, hardness and toughness which makes it stand up to extreme wear. And the workshop friendliness cuts production costs.
- When manufacturing roller presses and separators, we are looking to make the process as simple and cost conscious as possible, says Mr. Zhang Yonglong, the General Manager of Mill Engineering Co., Ltd. But we must not compromise with our high quality. Before using Hardox wear plate in our products, we constantly suffered from problems with maintenance and the difficulties that occurred when we had to replace the plate.
In cement production, the products from HCR&DI play an important role. A roller press crushes cement clinker prior to the material being sent to the cement mills for finish grinding. The separator separates fine particles from coarse particles. The fine particles are collected, while the coarse particles are being sent back for further grinding.
- We started to study SSAB’s products in 2002, says Mr. Yonglong. Our engineers went on an international fact-finding mission to study manufacturers abroad. And after extensive testing we decided to use Hardox 500 in 2005. We were very pleased with the result.
In the early days HCR&DI used their own wear resistant surfacing material and put a wear layer on top of the ordinary steel plate. That process turned out to be a waste of time and the result did not meet HCR&DI’s high standards. Using Hardox 500 resulted in a more wear resistant plate and a decrease in maintenance hours, resulting in the machines having a longer life-span.
- The persons at SSAB are not your average talent, says Mr. Yonglong. Our engineers have an on-going dialogue with the people at SSAB. They speak over the phone several times a month and meet face-to-face when is needed. We are open to try new products. We are already thinking of trying Hardox 600 for some parts in our machines.
At HCR&DI sales has increased from 120 Million yuan in 2005 to 1.6 Billion yuan in 2009. The company has become a famous and well-renowned brand in China; the workers constantly need to put in over-time to cope with the increasing demand. The engineers have focused on cutting cost, simplicity in maintenance, a longer life-span and reduction of pollution and noise. But Mr. Yonglong is not satisfied just yet; he has high ambitions.
- Today our equipment has the production capacity of 5000 tonnes cement per day, and we are working on the new equipment which will have the capacity of 10 000 tonnes per day, he continues. With our close relationship with SSAB, we believe this is just a matter of time.
SSAB is a world leader in the supply of high strength steels. SSAB offers products that have been developed in cooperation with customers, with the aim of creating a stronger, lighter and more durable world.
SSAB has 8 700 employees in more than 45 countries, and has production plants in Sweden and the USA. SSAB is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic stock exchange, Stockholm.