Weldox 1300 ready for use

Swedish steel maker SSAB Oxelösund has said it is ready to launch what it claims is the world's strongest structural steel plate. At 1300 MPa, Weldox 1300 has the highest yield strength of any quenched and tempered steel on the market, said Anders Skirfors, SSAB head of product development (seeIC March 2005, p43).

The announcement follows three years of development and will allow cranes to be lighter yet carry heavier loads. The new grade is the next step on from the 1100 MPa Weldox 1100 introduced in 1997, which is used by the majority of large crane manufacturers, especially on mobile and truck-mounted cranes.