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John Deere Wins Swedish Steel Prize 2011
11/21/2011 - This year’s Swedish Steel Prize goes to manufacturer Deere & Co. (John Deere) for its use of high-strength steels in combines that harvest crops more efficiently while meeting stringent engine emissions requirements.
This year’s Swedish Steel Prize goes to manufacturer Deere & Co. (John Deere) for its use of high-strength steels in combines that harvest crops more efficiently while meeting stringent engine emissions requirements.
Deere’s design increases farmers’ productivity by as much as 40%. The weight of targeted steel parts in the harvester has been reduced by 50%, and the new design has helped to reduce the amount of welding by almost 70%. Production processes that were created to enable the use of high-strength steel are said to have generated major advantages throughout the entire production chain.
The aim of the Swedish Steel Prize, which was established by SSAB in 1999, is to inspire and disseminate knowledge about high-strength steels and the possibilities to develop lighter, stronger, and more sustainable products.
“With the help of high-strength steels and a carefully conceived design, Deere & Co. has developed a lighter machine with greater harvesting efficiency and increased load capacity. It is a worthy winner of the Swedish Steel Prize,” said KG Ramström, jury chairman and Executive Vice President and Head of Group Marketing & Market Development, SSAB.
“We’re extremely pleased to be the winners of Swedish Steel Prize 2011. John Deere will donate the prize money to FIRST, an organization aimed at encouraging an interest in innovation and technology among children and young people. FIRST programs show innovators of the future how creativity combined with science and technology can resolve real engineering problems,” said Corwin Puryk, senior engineer at Deere & Co.
Other nominated companies were awarded a second prize in the Swedish Steel Prize 2011. These companies are HT Engineering Ltd. (New Zealand), Rotary-Ax (Brazil), and Sweco Structure (Sweden).
SSAB, a global leader in value-added, high-strength steel, offers products developed in close cooperation with its customers to create a stronger, lighter, and more sustainable world. The company has employees in over 45 countries and operates production facilities in Sweden and the U.S.
