Tecno Safety – a Tecno Group company, with 15 years in the market and leader in the industrial and commercial doors segment – is an important player in the security and protection segment, offering a wide range of products in the private (retail), corporate (large companies) and government markets, with applications of SSAB steels.
The escalation of violence in large urban centers in recent decades has been a cause for concern for governments, civil agencies and the population itself. The task of achieving peace is urgent and arduous, but some solutions can be a palliative to improve security. Although automotive armoring is growing vigorously, with the number of armored vehicles breaking records, rising from 20,024 to 25,916 units between 2021 and 2022, according to ABRABLIN (Brazilian Armoring Association), the architectural armoring market is present and competitive, with several industries developing products and services that benefit civil society.
Tecno Safety is one of them. With highly specialized engineer Felipe Masetti as its technical director, the armored doors manufactured by the company using SSAB steels serve a public that buys armored products out of necessity. SSAB is a Swedish multinational and world leader in the manufacture of high-strength steels and has been present in Brazil for twenty years, offering certified ballistic plates that are lightweight and highly resistant to break-ins.
The weight of national steel
One of the main problems that Felipe Masetti faced in his area was the weight of armored doors. A typical level 3 ballistic door of NBR 15000/2 2020 (protection against 7.62x51 FMJ rifle), made of national steel, weighs around 350 kg. “This conventional door, with national steel, is not only a hassle to handle, it requires effort to move it, generating many incidents, and it is a danger to unwary feet and hands.”
The solution found
The first idea to solve the issue of the door's weight was to use aramid in its manufacture, a lighter product. However, it is ineffective against break-ins since it is a fabric. “If you buy an armored door, you expect protection not only against bullets, but also that it is rigid enough to prevent it from being broken down. And in this regard, aramid is zero”, says Felipe Masetti. The solution found was based on research into SSAB's high-resistance steels. “I was surprised that the company was present in Brazil. From the moment Armox® steel began to be used, we were able to drastically reduce the weight of a level III armored door: it now weighs around 150 kilos, more than half of its original weight. This is equivalent to the weight of a solid wood door in a high-end home. In other words, everyone is already used to it”, adds Masetti.
High performance of Armox® sheet metal
But the main motivation for choosing Armox® steel for the construction of the doors was not just the weight reduction, but rather the overall performance. “I was part of the review of the Brazilian standard for ballistic armor, NBR-15000 in 2020, and it included the “PE” (Special Protection) analysis, which can also test the performance in bursts and V50 shots (“safety margin” test), for example. So, it’s not just about weight, but also the overall performance in which this material has proven to be unbeatable”, says Masetti.
Technical argument for sales success
“I rarely lose a sale when I have a technical argument. The door using Armox® and Ramor® steel has a much higher performance than what the market offers. The final product is impressive. Customers say, “Felipe, what kind of door is that?” because it looks like wood, is flat, has a finish and doesn’t have those steel defects on the surface of the steel,” says Masetti. “This quality also ends up having an impact on the conditions in which I deliver my product: SSAB sheet metal offers a perception of quality.”
Strengths of Armox® steel used in doors
From the point of view of the raw material, Felipe comments on the unexpected benefits: “Armox® sheet does not have the surface tension of a national sheet, being much flatter. We strictly follow the recommendations for cutting, welding, handling and drilling in order to make the most of this characteristic. Another point is its incredible resistance to cuts and drilling. What for competitors is a burden for manufacturing because they may not have the machinery to process SSAB steel, for us is a quality”, emphasizes the engineer. “We have a 12,000 KVA CNC laser cutting table that barely heats the sheet and offers a cutting loss of only 1 mm: when working the steel with the right tools and with the appropriate technologies, it is a great ally”.
Benefits of working with SSAB material and the difference between its product and the competition
According to Felipe, Armox® is a different type of steel from conventional steels, as its resistance to breaking in is much greater than that of a door made with another material. SSAB's sheet metal will resist drilling with conventional drills and bits. "That's great when we talk about resistance."
Development of more products with other SSAB steels
Felipe comments that Tecno Safety's door line is quite extensive, using SSAB's range of materials, such as Ramor® steels and complementary ones, such as Strenx®, in addition to the ballistic lines. There is also a list of products under development for use in door structures with SSAB steels. “When you stop using conventional steels for the door structure, there is a huge improvement in performance. In cases of break-in, the elastic memory of SSAB steel provides excellent conditions in relation to deformation and return to the initial position, unlike conventional steel, which when deformed, loses part of its structure”.
Target audience for the application of Armox® steel at Tecno Safety
As technical director of Tecno Safety, Felipe's work is focused on the architectural armoring segment, creating innovative products in this segment. “Generally, our target audience also fears actions by organized crime. When we use a high-hardness steel, with superior resistance, we also have effective results against these more specialized attacks”, says the technical director of Tecno Safety. “They won’t be able to drill the lock with a drill, for example, because they will come across SSAB steel”.
Tecno Safety Door Line
Tecno Safety offers several levels of protection, from reinforced doors made with Strenx® structural steel, to the N3A armored door (for short weapons such as pistols, for example) made with 2.5mm Strenx® and Ramor® material, and even armored doors for heavy weapons, against rifles, made with 5mm SSAB steel. This door, compared to conventional steel, would be 12mm, leading to a reduction of more than half the weight. And a new product that has arrived on the market is the door shield, made with SSAB steel, which goes on top of the existing door, as an overlay, providing both mechanical structure against breaking in and ballistic resistance, without the need for the headaches of replacing the old door, making the service much faster.
Shield door: an innovation
“If it weren’t for SSAB steel, I wouldn’t be able to make this shield, because of its resistance and reduced weight”, says Masetti. This innovation is patented. The door is strong enough to hold the shield and there is a reinforcement mechanism to support the weight. It is an innovative product that solves many security problems”, he adds. “Delivering an armored door requires construction work. The shield doesn’t, because it doesn’t require removing the old door, and it can be delivered in the morning and finished the same day”, guarantees Felipe.
With proof of operation
Today, most competitor doors are made with common steel and, as a result, do not have any certificate of ballistic effectiveness for use with that door. “All SSAB plates have a ballistic certificate, that is, the material has been tested, approved and certified by the Brazilian army for use in that ballistic application. It is a material produced for security. In addition, it operates 100% within the legality in relation to products controlled by the Brazilian army in steel plates”, comments Felipe.
Innovation in the market
The armored doors produced by Tecno Safety with SSAB's Armox® steel open a range of innovations, bringing automation, with facial technology (biometrics), adding even more value to the final product, with security and resistance. Furthermore, in a thinner door, there is more space to place things inside it, such as locks with electromechanical drives, which are connected to modern opening systems, in addition to being able to deliver other features, such as sealing, acoustics and aesthetics.
Other applications of SSAB steel
Felipe also comments on the "bullet stops" used in shooting ranges, which can stop projectiles. When they were made with conventional steel, no matter how thick they were, they did not have the characteristics of SSAB steel, which, in addition to being highly resistant to puncture (Brinell hardness), also has high resistance to abrasion. "When we talk about shots, we are talking about abrasion, and in these steels, even thick ones, where the ammunition hits repeatedly, "dents" or pegs - a kind of "shells" - form in this plate, and sometimes the projectile hits these shells and makes it return towards the shooter. The use of SSAB steel minimizes this effect, allowing for many years of use without the need for maintenance or replacement."
The demand for security caught the attention of an innovation specialist
Having graduated in civil engineering in 1987, Felipe Masetti, technical director of Tecno Safety, began and dedicated a large part of his career in the field of technological innovations for the construction industry, providing product development services to large companies and consultants. Starting in 2003, the demand for protection (security) grew due to the increase in violence and the feeling of insecurity, and after studies and research, Felipe founded a company specialized in this field, which soon recognized him as a qualified and distinguished professional. “I have a long history with SSAB in the protection market. And our paths have merged in these almost 20 years that I have dedicated to the field, where I immediately identified the competitive advantages of its products. This symbiosis gave rise to some of the most outstanding security works that not only broke paradigms, but also proved to be very effective in the greatest test of all: time”.
Long-term partnership in a growing market
“From this moment on, it was a long-term partnership, with a wide range of experiences, from corporate and government segments to the “Very VIPS” – the big wealthy families”, says Felipe. With his vast experience, he was a manufacturer of security structures for consulates and embassies throughout the country, where he even received recognition from the US State Department, as he was responsible for the armoring of the US consulate’s Visa Issuance Centers, not only in São Paulo, but also in Rio de Janeiro and other states. “It’s a much larger segment than we imagine”, he says. The applications attract attention within SSAB itself, such as the armoring of Police Officer Training Academies, consulates and fortification for farms, carried out by a professional with 20 years of experience in this market.
“Fear Industry”
Felipe Masetti emphasizes that he has done and continues to do many projects and protection actions, since “unfortunately, it is the fear market”. “Everyone is increasingly afraid. Insecurity is based on the gruesome facts that reality imposes on us every day. We could not be used to this, but we are. Therefore, it is a segment that grows a lot every year and that has an ever-increasing demand, a capillarity that we could not even imagine. When we talk about the corporate market, the technical requirements are much higher, and there is no one better: it is all SSAB”.
SSAB support and long-term partnership
“SSAB’s technical support is unnecessary, because the product has no recalls,” jokes the engineer. “I have customers who made doors 12, 15 years ago and I’ve never had a single complaint. This proximity to technological development, the way SSAB treats its partners, a presence within the company, means that it’s not a company that’s there just to sell a raw material. It’s supporting the development of the product, taking part in the step-by-step process. It’s a very intense partnership and that’s very important in technical products. It’s the vision of the importance of innovation,” says Felipe Masetti.
Tecno Safety’s growth goal
“I always try to be a reference as an innovator in quality and performance in the security segment.” Felipe Masetti strongly believes in the private market, the great sales driver. “It’s not just a theft, it’s a piece of the person’s peace of mind that’s gone. It’s a market, but it’s a sad reality,” he concludes.