Back in the 1970s, the Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB solved the longstanding contradiction between hardness and toughness in steel. Thanks to its century-long expertise in steelmaking, SSAB managed to master the art of uniting these two qualities in Hardox® wear plate, setting a new industry standard. A mission made possible.
Explore the world of Hardox® wear plate
Officially launched in 1974 under the intricate name “OX AR 360 S”, Hardox® 400 shook things up with a game-changing design. It was produced in Oxelösunds Järnverk, SSAB’s steel mill in Oxelösund, Sweden, and was the first user-friendly wear plate that could be cut, bent, welded and machined without hassles in the workshop. It wasn’t long before customers took notice. Lennart Bergqvist and his team at SSAB tirelessly promoted its benefits, quickly ushering in market acceptance – and a new era in wear steel technology.
It’s not just the performance of Hardox® wear plate that sets it apart. It’s also the hands-on approach of our engineering and sales teams, who turn up wherever our customers are – on site, in workshops, and of course at exhibitions worldwide. They tend to listen more and speak less, perhaps because of our Nordic heritage that values overperforming over overselling. We look forward to meeting you in person at upcoming events!
During the initial years of production, the hardness and toughness of Hardox® wear plate impressed everyone. The flatness, not so much. But this issue was resolved when a new levelling line was installed in Oxelösund.
“Overnight, Oxelösund was able to deliver Europe’s flattest wear plate, which was of course a real success for the product.” — Tor-Björn Larsson, Hardox® wear plate specialist and product developer.
Global steel production was becoming more and more competitive, so the Swedish steel industry had to consolidate its resources. Svenskt Stål AB, today’s SSAB, was formed by merging three major steel mills: Oxelösunds Järnverk (where Hardox® wear plate is produced), Domnarvet in Borlänge, and Norrbottens Järnverk AB in Luleå, with the Swedish government as the primary owner.
Hardox® 450 was introduced and quickly became the versatile, go to steel for our customers’ abrasion-fighting needs across a variety of applications. With high toughness and being 50 HB harder than Hardox® 400, it has served as a recipe for success for many years.
That same year, the registered brand name of Hardox® wear plate was established. The name was derived from its exceptional hardness and its origin in Oxelösund. The former heavyweight boxing world champion and Swedish hero, Ingemar Johansson, spearheaded the launch of the new brand name.
Hardox® plates got their characteristic red primer color and white markings covering the entire surface of the plate. This feature helps customers identify the right plate for their needs and distinguish smaller pieces of plate more easily.
The dump body manufacturer Carnehl from Germany decided to collaborate with technical specialists from SSAB to innovate the design of their dump bodies. The idea of a free-hanging U-shaped body was nothing less than revolutionary compared to traditional heavy, thick bodies that used a lot of external stiffeners. This new design worked perfectly together with hard and tough Hardox® 450, providing both high wear and dent resistance.
In 1995, SSAB’s board decided to invest over 1 billion Swedish kronor (roughly 88 million euros) in a new heavy plate rolling mill in Oxelösund. It was inaugurated in 1998 with Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustav pushing the start button amidst 280 specially invited guests.
The mill is 17 meters (56ft.) high and weighs about 2,000 tons. The four high rolling (quarto) mill is still one of the world’s most powerful mills, delivering extremely high precision in terms of material thickness.
The Hardox® In My Body membership program was introduced. It qualifies manufacturers who have a drive to make their customers more competitive through offering certified equipment that uses Hardox® wear plate. This quality program supports more than 500 members in 60 countries, and the numbers are growing rapidly.
In 2000, the first Hardox® Wearparts centers opened their doors in Europe. Now, with over 500 full-service centers, we continue to provide wear parts made of Hardox® wear plate and offer services like installation and maintenance across the world.
To demonstrate just how much Hardox® wear plate can take, SSAB launched the short video series “Bring It On!”. Witness strongmen wielding sledgehammers, crazy crane operators with wrecking balls, and monster machines trying (unsuccessfully) to wear down the impenetrable Hardox® steel.
With a new rolling mill in Borlänge, Hardox® wear steel could be produced in thicknesses ranging from as low as 0.8 mm (0.0315”) up to 160 mm (6.299”). The added production capacity also enabled the introduction of extra-thin Hardox® wear sheets in 2011.
When SSAB expanded in the United States through the acquisition of IPSCO, Hardox® wear plate began to be produced in Mobile, Alabama. By building the quenching line QL 6 in the Mobile mill, SSAB had the world’s most modern quenching line.
Hardox® 500 Tuf was launched as the world’s first 500 HBW steel with the workshop and structural properties of a 450 HBW steel. It offers outstanding strength, hardness and toughness in a single plate. It has proven its worth worldwide in dump trucks and bodies, containers, mining equipment, agricultural machinery, liner plates, wear parts and buckets of all kinds. When customers upgrade to Hardox® 500 Tuf, their applications get longer service life and become more sustainable.
The Italian tipper trailer manufacturer Mantella was an early adopter of Hardox® 500 Tuf. By upgrading their Stratosphere tipper body with Hardox® 500 Tuf in thinner dimensions, they reduced the body’s weight by 365 kg (805 lbs.). Mantella claimed the prestigious Swedish Steel Prize in 2018 with their groundbreaking approach.
Corrosive environments and acidic loads can be a menace to conventional wear steels. SSAB came up with a remedy – Hardox® HiAce with a nominal hardness of 450 HBW. This new Hardox® grade is the result of tweaking the alloying, reaching a service life that can be up to 3 times longer than a standard 450 HBW steel in municipal and industrial waste management, waste-to-energy plants, wood, pulp and paper industries, and the mining and process industries.
Hardox® HiTemp is introduced, a new grade that meets a major challenge: standing up to abrasive conditions in high-heat environments. It can withstand temperatures up to 500°C (930°F) for an extended time without losing its properties.
Hardox® wear plate has a 50-year history of successfully tackling extreme wear challenges. Not only is it a premium steel, but it’s backed up by SSAB’s comprehensive service and support resources to assist our customers in optimizing their use of Hardox® wear plate. Bring it on!
Hardox® wear plate grades are constantly fine-tuned to deliver even more consistent quality. The guarantees that come with every plate cover thickness, flatness and bending properties, ensuring predictable workshop processing and reliable performance in operation.
Deliveries of emission-free Hardox® wear steel are starting already now. Naturally, emission-free grades of Hardox® wear plate will have the same superior properties as today’s Hardox®.
