FEATURE MACHINE BUILDING, FRAMEWORKS & SAFETY On track for sustainable forestry
snugly around the tyres. Mats Frangén, Olofsfors product
development manager, commented: “By optimising our designs to simplify manufacture, we have reduced the number of processing steps. Ovako’s rolling mill is fully equipped to supply the right grades of steel at the tolerances we need for our tracks. As a result, we can make significant savings in production and we pass those savings on to our customers.”
Design engineers are coming under growing pressure to develop climate-smart products, which is why Olofsfors, a Swedish manufacturer of specialist tracks that are fitted to the tyres of forestry and construction vehicles, is sourcing steel from Ovako. Adam Hylén, business development manager for bar products at Ovako in Smedjebacken, Sweden, explains
S
ustainability is becoming ever more important to buyers of engineered
products, with one example being Olofsfors, a Swedish manufacturer of specialist tracks that are fitted to the tyres of forestry and construction vehicles. Its CEO, Göran Nyberg, explained:
“Forestry machine tracks provide traction to improve the productivity of forestry machines. They need to be tough and durable to withstand rough forestry conditions. “However, today’s forestry machine
operators also want to have a minimal impact on our planet. Our customers are calling for us to help them quantify their environmental performance. To achieve this, we are currently working to publish the independently verified carbon footprint of our forestry machine tracks. In turn, our customers will be able to use this data to demonstrate their own environmental impact.” To help, Olofsfors is using procurement
as a tool to deliver sustainability for customers. It buys steel from Ovako to support four areas: long-term reliability of its products; saving energy during manufacture; sourcing steel with a low carbon footprint; and using low-carbon transport.
SUSTAINABILITY Being fit for purpose is probably the most
10 JUNE 2021 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS
important aspect of sustainability – so the first consideration for any design engineer is choosing the right materials for a product. In the case of Olofsfors, it specifies Ovako’s WR (wear resistant) boron steel thanks to its high strength, wear resistance and ductility. Tracks made from this material are tough and long lasting, they can withstand rocks and gravel, water and mud, large obstacles, ice and snow, and tree roots. They are also durable and reliable in the forest environment. Olofsfors also orders steel bar in the
form of special profiles with the right cross section and dimensions, avoiding the need for a high value and energy intensive forging machine. Instead, it can simply pull bars from its stock, cut them to size, then use hot-forming to shape them so that they will fit
Olofsfors specifies Ovako’s WR (wear resistant) boron steel thanks to its high strength, wear resistance and ductility. Tracks made from this material are tough and long lasting, they can withstand rocks and gravel, water and mud, large obstacles, ice and snow, and tree roots
RESPONSIBLY MANUFACTURED STEEL Another benefit that can be passed on to customers is that the carbon footprint of Ovako’s hot-rolled steel is 80% lower than the global average for rolled steel. The steel producer has achieved this by applying energy saving techniques to its mills. For example, it bases all of its production on recycling of scrap material, which is less energy-intensive than processing virgin ore. In addition, it reduces CO2
emissions by using low-
carbon electricity from Nordic hydropower and nuclear sources wherever possible. All of this is backed up by data
in the form of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which are independently verified documents that cover Ovako’s production from ‘cradle to gate’. In practice, this takes account of the carbon footprint embodied in raw materials, as well as the direct emissions from any fossil fuels used on its sites and the indirect emissions from electricity generation. Olofsfors uses steel with carbon
footprint of less than 400kg CO2 per
tonne. It can use this data to calculate its carbon footprint for its customers. Ovako has also launched a carbon footprint calculator tool on its website to help engineers estimate their own figures.
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT Another tactic that helps Olofsfors control its environmental impact is by asking suppliers like Ovako to use freight transport rather than rail. According to campaigners at Freight on Rail, rail transport has 76% lower carbon dioxide than road transport for bulk deliveries. Ovako uses the rail depot at its rolling mill in Boxholm, Sweden, to load steel profiles for the 830km journey to its customer’s manufacturing site. With the UN’s COP26 climate
conference coming up in November, design engineers will come under growing pressure to create climate- smart products – so it’s worth knowing how to use EPDs and other tactics to control the carbon footprint.
Ovako
www.ovako.com
/ DESIGNSOLUTIONS
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