Olofsfors, a Swedish manufacturer of steel products for the forestry and construction industries, has started to incorporate a lighter, more fuel-efficient type of steel
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Olofsfors has opted to bring the production process for its Eco-Tracks for forestry machines in house. In the search for a supplier to provide the steel for the side supports on the tracks, it chose SSAB Boron 27 steel.
“We have transitioned from using pre-manufactured parts to buying steel that we press and manufacture in house,” Olofsfors head of purchasing and logistics Maria Ragnarsson says. “Now that we control our production process, we’re generating less waste and making a more sustainable product.”
“Quality is one of our top priorities. If we want to produce the right quality, the material we use has to meet the required quality standards.
“We chose steel from SSAB because it maintains a high, consistent level of quality and because SSAB is a sustainably minded company that is also a relatively local supplier to us here in northern Sweden,” she continues.
In addition to optimising fuel consumption as a result of the lightweight properties of SSAB’s steel, the switch to SSAB Boron 27 has resulted in less material use, less waste and improved sustainability for Olofsfors.
The material waste percentage from cut steel can be as high as 50 per cent, but, with SSAB’s steel, Olofsfors has reduced that number significantly.
“Our material use is down too. We make some 400,000 side supports a year and, for each one, we’re saving between half a kilo and a kilo of steel. So we’re heating less steel and wasting less steel,” Olofsfors strategic product developer Mats Frangén says. “SSAB is committed to reducing its long-term climate impact and that’s something we value when choosing our suppliers. With SSAB, we use and transport less material, all of which has a positive impact on our carbon emissions.”
SSAB is a Nordic and US-based steel company that has employees in over 50 countries and production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the US.
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