When dangerous materials travel by road, rail or ship, strict international safety standards come into play, particularly for the containers that hold them. Both the manufacturing process and the components used to make these containers have to be of the highest quality. That is a fact well known by Langh Group Cargo Solutions, a Finnish company that makes portable tank containers for liquids as well as cargo containers for corrosive and sharp bulk shipments.
Recently, the firm upgraded the material it uses to manufacture both container types, switching to a new grade of austenitic stainless steel developed by Outokumpu.
Strong, light and hard-wearing
Changing over to, Forta 316plus, a high-chromium grade, resulted in a number of improvements for the company.
Langh Group Cargo Solutions had previously used wear-resistant carbon steel, but found that resistance to corrosion and wear in the new stainless was better. The Forta 316plus also went through cold working to increase its strength, making it more durable than the carbon steel and less likely to burst when sharp objects were loaded.
The strength lead to two more crucial factors: “We could now make thinner walls for containers, which results in both a lighter weight for the container and an increase in the amount of material that can be carried,” explains Markku Yli-Kahri, Product Manager from Langh Group Cargo Solutions.
Easy to use
Because it contains less nickel and molybdenum than standard grades, Forta 316plus came with a competitive price tag.
But for Langh Group Cargo Solutions, how the material handled during the manufacturing process was a key consideration. The company was glad to learn that Forta 316plus could be welded with the same tools and techniques used for standard grades, which made the fabrication fast and easy.