Thomas Lewin, Bo Jönsson, Roger Berglund and Krister Wickman.

The development of materials that can cope with extreme temperatures led to the award of the “Wilhelm Haglund Medal to the Product Developer of the Year” in 2017 to Roger Berglund, Bo Jönsson, Thomas Lewin and Krister Wickman from business area Sandvik Materials Technology. The medal was presented in conjunction with Sandvik's 2017 Annual General Meeting.

“There are many people at Sandvik who invest much energy in developing new solutions to make our customers more successful based on their needs, and we are highly honored to receive the prestigious Wilhelm Haglund Medal for our efforts,” says Bo Jönsson.

The team developed two materials, Kanthal APM and Kanthal APMT, which resulted in a paradigm shift in thermal technology and the development of a number of new products and applications.

Conventional materials can have excellent oxidization resistance, but a relatively low high-temperature strength, which limits applications in designs with low mechanical load. By using a powder-metallurgical process, the team discovered a method to add billions of small particles to the metal, which dramatically increases the strength at high temperatures. The combination of characteristics in the new material is therefore completely unique and revolutionary.

The material can be used in heating systems in industrial furnaces, and other demanding applications. There are many advantages for customers and for the environment.

“The material enables substantially increased productivity for customers, at the same time as helping to dramatically reduce energy consumption. It also reduces maintenance costs and contributes to enhanced safety and a better environment,” says Bo Jönsson.

“Products manufactured from Kanthal APM and Kanthal APMT have been highly successful and we can see fantastic future business opportunities in demanding applications. Constantly developing innovative products and solutions is a prerequisite for our success,” says Björn Rosengren, President and CEO for Sandvik.

For more information, visit www.sandvik.com

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