Roller containers from Winfa weigh less yet outperform with Hardox® steel

Winfa’s customers are willing to pay more for a premium container built using Hardox^® wear plate because of the long-term savings they gain.

Vinš explains: “That’s exactly what SSAB high-strength steels do: by lasting longer, consuming less fuel and outperforming other materials.”

Vinš has figured out how to keep his heavy-duty containers fully loaded to their maximum capacity and travel more miles while saving on equipment weight and fuel. Winfa decreased the gauge of the high-strength steel sheets to the lowest possible thickness that was technically feasible. They reduced the wall thickness of their roller containers to 2 mm (0.078”) and the bottom to 2-3 mm (0.078”- 0.118”). Although this does not introduce a significant increase in resistance, it produces a remarkable decrease in weight. So, they could slash the weight and increase the payload by 800–1,200 kg (1,764–2,646 lbs.) in their 30-40 m³ (39.238 - 52.318 cubic yards) roller containers.

The bottom, side walls, front and door of the roller container are made from 3-mm (0.118”) Hardox^® 450, which has a typical yield strength of 1,250 MPa. The resistance of this Hardox^® gauge to plastic deformation due to impact is roughly the same as the resistance of 7.5-mm (0.295”) S355 steel. Similarly, the company finds that as far as abrasion goes, Hardox^® 450 is about 2.5 to 3 times more resistant to abrasion than S355 steel.

Vinš explains that using Hardox^® steel lets them reduce the average container weight by around 30 percent, translating to an overall weight reduction of up to 400 kg (882 lbs.).

“If you reduce the weight of vehicle by 400 kg (882 lbs.), this typically corresponds to a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 2 percent. So for a vehicle that drives 70,000 km (about 43,500 miles) a year, 2 percent less fuel amounts to more than EUR 1,000 saved,” he says. 

For Winfa, their decades-old partnership with SSAB has delivered many benefits beyond access to Hardox^® and other SSAB steels. These include gaining access to priority technical support, expertise in processing high-strength steels, and the opportunity to share experiences between manufacturers. This last benefit has become even more apparent since Winfa joined the Hardox^® In My Body member program in 2004.

Winfa’s owner Vinš admits this was an easy choice to make.

“Joining Hardox^® In My Body was the logical outcome of our 23-year cooperation with SSAB. For us, the greatest benefit has been the opportunity to cooperate, share information regarding production and the use of different marketing efforts with a global company like SSAB.”

And as far as Winfa’s customers go, Vinš believes that the Hardox^® In My Body logo, with a unique traceable ID on each roller container, acts as assurance that the product is made from the highest quality materials.

Based in Trnava, Slovakia, Winfa has been producing special metallurgical materials since 1996. In 2000, the company started manufacturing spare parts for construction, loading, recycling and lifting machinery, and in 2004 it joined the Hardox^® In My Body program and became an official Hardox Wearparts center. Winfa employs 40 people and has an annual turnover of EUR 12.2 million.

• Longer product lifetime
• Up to 30% less weight – in thinner gauges of steel than otherwise needed with S355 steel
• Higher payload and less fuel consumption
• Containers that are lighter, tougher and more durable than competing materials, despite their use in extremely challenging environments