SSAB Special Steels

SSAB is the largest producer of high-strength steels globally and has an estimated market share of 25%. SSAB Special Steels is responsible for sales of SSAB's quenched and tempered (Q&T) steels and advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) as well as for steel production in Oxelösund, Sweden, and Mobile, USA. The division's broad portfolio includes a number of unique high-strength steels, including the Hardox (quenched and tempered plate with high wear resistance) and Strenx (advanced structural steel) brands.

Sales are diversified across customer-segments and geographies. SSAB Special Steels sells plate both directly to machine builders and service centers as well as to smaller end-users through our own global sales network. The subsidiaries in Abraservice Group and the Hardox Wearparts network (independent actors offering wear parts and repair services) supply the market with parts made of Hardox wear plate.

SSAB Special Steels' products add significant customer value in the form of increased productivity and sustainability performance, which creates the prerequisites for more stable prices over the business cycle. The high-strength steel market is growing structurally and the strategy is to drive growth by launching new products and by developing applications with customers to enable them to upgrade to high-strength steel from standard steel. The goal is to deliver 2.2 million tonnes of high-strength steel in 2030. Shipments in 2024 were 1.2 million tonnes.

SSAB Special Steels contributes to SSAB’s strategy by:

• Increasing the Group’s share of high-strength steel
• Providing stability in earnings over business cycles
• Developing multiple channels to the market including. downstream activities
• Leading the transformation towards fossil-free steel production through building an electric arc furnace in Oxelösund

High-strength structural steels:

• Mobile cranes (booms, chassis and support legs)
• Truck-mounted cranes
• Aerial work platforms
• Chassis for trailers and trucks
• Agricultural machinery
• Offshore (selected components such as jack-up rigs)

Wear steels:

• Dumper bodies for both off-road and on-road use
• Buckets 
• Containers
• Stationary mining equipment such as crushers
• Recycling equipment
• Wear parts to several segments and applications 

Protection steels:

• Vehicles for safe transportation of people and valuables
• Protection for buildings and counters
  

Tool steels:

• Molds
• Tool holders
• Axles

SSAB Special Steels has the widest product portfolio on the market, combined with deep knowledge of steel properties and performance. SSAB Special Steels is responsible for all SSAB’s Q&T and hot-rolled AHSS with yield strengths of 690 MPa and above. These products can further be divided into structural high-strength steels, wear steels, protection steels and tool steels. SSAB Special Steels’ product portfolio includes a number of brands and product lines, each of which has its own unique characteristics and target applications, and comes in a range of grades and dimensions:

• Hardox^® is the leading brand of wear steels. It offers a unique combination of hardness and toughness, which in turn enable lighter, more durable structures for higher payload and longer service life
• Strenx^® is SSAB’s high-strength structural steel product brand. Its high strength combined with good impact toughness and forming properties enable strong, light structures for higher payload
• Raex™ is a distributor brand for wear steel designed to meet standard demands on the market
• Toolox^® is a pre-hardened tool steel with very good machinability and is available as plate and bars
• Armox^® and Ramor are protection plate with properties designed especially for the protection of life and property

SSAB Special Steels' main competitors are ArcelorMittal, Dillinger, Voestalpine, Nucor, Nippon Steel, JFE and NLMK Clabeq.