ArcelorMittal Dofasco Backing Study at University of Waterloo in Search of Lighter Steel
02/28/2013 - ArcelorMittal Dofasco is among a group of auto-industry companies financing a new study looking for lighter steel, The Hamilton Spectator reports. The Hamilton icon is backing a $1.1-million study at the University of Waterloo.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco is among a group of auto-industry companies financing a new study looking for lighter steel, The Hamilton Spectator reports.
The Hamilton icon is backing a $1.1-million study at the University of Waterloo.
Finding steel that’s lighwter without giving up strength has been a Holy Grail quest for the Canadian steel industry. At ArcelorMittal alone, about a third of annual production goes into auto uses - that’s more than $1 billion a year in annual sales.
The search is being driven by auto customers’ demands for new grades of metal that will make vehicles lighter and help them meet new emission standards.
ArcelorMittal’s part of that quest occupies 1,500 researchers around the world, including 53 in Hamilton. The company spends $250 million a year on research, about half of that in new product development with auto products accounting for half of that portion.
The research has already led to new grades of steel that are stronger than traditional grades so that thinner sheets can be used to make parts and new ways of making parts using heated steel in a mold rather than stamping cold metal into shape.
The federal government is contributing $605,000 toward the project with the rest coming from industry.
Also supporting the project are Honda R&D Americas, Magna and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.
Click here to read this article from The Hamilton Spectator.
