Imagine a container that is extra light, extra strong and also attractive appearance. These three factors offer great environmental and financial benefits. Although this may sound too good to be true, it is a reality.

SSAB Tunnplåt in Borlänge will now be launching a major drive to inform the market of the benefits of tomorrow’s containers.

Those who manufacture, own and ship containers by sea have already realized the benefits of containers made of high strength steels.

The time has now come for the market of swap body containers (containers carried and loaded by trucks) to come to the same conclusion.

Most swap body containers now on the market are made of traditional steels. As a result, the rough handling to which containers are subjected, together with corrosion, often lead to high repair costs.

In addition, today’s heavy containers are costly to transport and make an impact on the environment when hauled and emptied.

Less steel –same strength

SSAB Tunnplåt has noted these problems facing the market.

”For the past year, SSAB Tunnplåt has been running a project aimed at accumulating knowledge in this field. We were determined to assist in finding design solutions,” says Project Leader Ann Björnsson Hällén and continues:

”We have recently also realized that our findings are not well known in the market, and that they aroused surprise among our customers.”

In brief, the benefits of high strength steels ought to be put to use in the production of tomorrow’s containers.

This can be summarized by the fact that much less high strength steel is needed to achieve the same strength as that obtained when using traditional steels.

Simplified production

This yields environmental and financial benefits to manufacturers, owners and hauliers – the three players in the market.

For the manufacturer, the reduced amount of steel offers higher performance, a better working environment and simplified production.

”In this area, we can contribute the knowledge needed for adapting the design to suit the new steels,” considers Ann Björnsson Hällén.

To the owners, this offers lower maintenance costs and higher quality of the containers. In addition, the appearance of the containers is more attractive.

Hauliers benefit by higher revenue per journey, since the container is lighter and can thus carry more load within a given weight. In addition, the fuel costs will be lower.

But perhaps the most exciting benefit concerns the environment, and this is where everyone is a winner.

A container made of high strength steel cuts down on the total number of journeys and thus reduces the fuel consumption for a given shipment.

These lighter containers can also be designed so that they have better aerodynamic properties, which also reduces the fuel costs.

Reduced emissions

“Studies have shown that a container of aerodynamically good design can substantially reduce the carbon dioxide emissions,” says Jonas Larsson, Environmental Manager at SSAB Tunnplåt in Borlänge.

He adds:

”Numerous examples show that the weight of a container can be cut by 20 per cent by making it of high strength steel. This offers obvious environmental benefits, since the emissions of hygienically harmful exhaust gases are reduced. The lower weight also leads to lower fuel consumption for individual vehicles or entire transport systems, if the weight reduction is put to use to achieve higher load-carrying capacity.”

”SSAB Tunnplåt and our partners are well ahead of the competition in terms of knowledge concerning tomorrow’s containers,” says Ann Björnsson Hällén.

She reveals that an information offensive is now being planned to make owners, manufacturers and hauliers aware of the knowledge accumulated by SSAB on this subject.

Bildtext: A combination of smart design and advanced high strength steel makes it possible to manufacture containers at least 20 per cent lighter than if they were made by conventional steel. Ann Björnsson Hällén and designer Kent Ackemo, both at SSAB Tunnplåt have been working on a swap body container project. 

Text: Anders Hansson Photo: Ulf Palm News Magazine No 2, 2005