ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products

Online client newsletter | June 2021


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Ultra strong

Innovation partnership develops lightweight structural hollows in Amstrong® Ultra

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Structural hollows are lightweight steel tubes which are used to reinforce mobile structures such as trailers, rail wagons, and vehicles. ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products recently worked with Condesa Fabril, a leading Spanish producer of tubes and pipes, to create lightweight structural hollows from ArcelorMittal’s Amstrong® Ultra 960MCL high strength steel. The structural hollows provide rigidity, but at a much lower weight than the reinforcing bars which are usually utilised in these applications. Weight savings of up to 30 percent are possible, allowing manufacturers of industrial applications to reduce the carbon footprint of their products while increasing payload, and cutting production costs.

Structural hollows can be used to reinforce mobile structures such as trailers and rail wagons

One of the major challenges with producing structural hollows from steels in the Amstrong® Ultra range is their high strength. “One of our first steps was to check that we had the capabilities in-house to form this material into tubular products,” says Gustavo Antoñana, managing director of Condesa Fabril. “To help us, ArcelorMittal R&D offered us the chance to perform tube production trials with the Amstrong® Ultra 960MCL.”


Gustavo Antoñana,
Managing Director of Condesa Fabril

High strength leads to significant weight savings

Weight savings are possible as the Amstrong® Ultra steel can be utilised in lower thicknesses than the commodity grades currently used to produce hollow sections.



Working with these ultra high strength steels is a challenge – a challenge Condesa Fabril has mastered

The high strength of ArcelorMittal’s Amstrong® Ultra grades allows them to be used in thin gauges

Amstrong® Ultra 960MCL from ArcelorMittal allows Condesa Fabril to create lightweight solutions

Wide range of applications for structural hollows

The structural hollows produced by Condesa Fabril are already finding applications in a range of industries, notes Gustavo Antoñana: “Ultra high strength structural hollows are interesting for any customer who wants to reduce the weight – and energy use – of their application.”



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