Finland-based Stalatube, known worldwide as the manufacturer of diverse and highly developed stainless-steel hollow sections, profiles and components, has created a new material concept for manufacturing extremely lightweight bus bodies with its stainless-steel components. The new strength classes, STALA400F for stronger ferritic and STALA630D for stronger Lean Duplex, enable the manufacture of even lighter bus bodies, thanks to the material’s yield strength of up to 630 MPa, together with its excellent elongation and energy absorption properties.
Says Mr. Jori Maattanen, Sales Director, SBA Sales, Stalatube Oy: “We are at the moment presenting our highest strength stainless steel grade, which means if OEMs chose our steel instead of the convention carbon steel grades, they are able to save up to 500 kg off from the bus body, which is significant in overall weight-saving.”
The company’s strength also lies in assisting OEMs in with their design stage once the deal is finalized. “Basically, we deliver pure raw material as we know the properties of the material and or give them additional information regarding design – welding & joints. Depends on the market too, in Europe the biggest doubts are related to welding and may be in some other markets is the cost as the cost of raw material is high and not the cheapest option. However, in the long run because of the higher quality raw material they are the cheaper, as the life cycle costs are lowest,” explains Mr. Maattanen.
Stalatube’s forte in the production know-how makes it a renowned player. “We are the leading company globally doing it. Among the companies using stainless steel in the buses globally, our market share is around 50 per cent. However outside Europe and mostly all buses, including carbon steel, our market is close to 2 per cent”, he shares.
With electric buses coming, the buses need to be lighter due to their battery weight already making them heavier. They are also expensive compared to traditional buses. “Due to these two things it is easier for a body builder to adapt or accept higher investment cost in order to save weight and that is interesting for us,” adds the Sales Director.
Depending on customer’s requirements, Stalatube can deliver anything from standard tubes and sheets to tailor-made ready to assemble component kits. “Besides buses, we are quite strong in building & construction industry, food & beverage industry. We have also invested in new production unit in Poland which supports the existing Finland plant. This shows that we are very eager to continue our growth momentum. We are growing by 10 per cent every year and wherever there is a need we will support the bus manufacturers,” he concludes.