The center won the prestigious award by designing a new bale clamp that helped a recycling company be more productive and reduce downtime.

The Hardox Wearparts® Award is given out annually to Hardox Wearparts® centers for developing innovative wear products and services. This year, the jury selected Barou Equipements SAS for the innovative way the company combined Hardox® and Strenx™ grades to optimize strength and wear resistance.

“It feels great and rewarding to receive this award—especially due to our team efforts with SSAB to find solutions that bring more value to our customers,” says Barou Product Manager Jordane Cellard.

Barou Equipements SAS specializes in equipment for rough environments with a lot of wear. They are known for their ability to develop and produce products such as attachments that address wear resistance issues in demanding applications and conditions.

Taking on the challenge

Barou’s specialized knowledge and experience was an advantage when they took on the challenge from the recycling company. Together with the customer they found a solution.

“The company had experienced major issues using its forklift to handle paper bales in the receiving department,” says Cellard. “In fact, the standard bale clips we used were subject to a fast pace and too much stress because of their design. So the company encountered recurring breakdowns that disrupted production.”

The solution

Barou designed a new bale clamp with many advantages. Thanks to innovative thinking as well as by using Hardox® and Strenx™ steels, the new bale clamp managed to optimize both handling and productivity, while reducing downtime. It used the mechanical strength and wear resistance properties of the steels to achieve a longer service life, and they also enhanced the forklift’s capacity.

“The close collaboration of our team with our customer and the end user as well as our expertise in this type of industry helped us find the right solution for the end user,” explains Cellard.

Honorable Mention for unique truck bed liner

In addition to the Hardox Wearparts® Award, an Honorable Mention was presented to the Hardox Wearparts® center in Tuscaloosa for a new truck bed liner application. The jury selected the center for its innovative adaptation of a truck bed liner subject to high temperatures, which resulted in a longer service life and dramatically reduced manufacturing time.

The Hardox Wearparts® Award is a global competition for members of the Hardox Wearparts® network. The annual award recognizes innovative wear products and services, and serves as an inspiration to all who work with Hardox Wearparts®.