TO 43 Stainless steel

Jernkontoret's technical area 43, Stainless steel, is where collaboration takes place between companies, research institutes and higher education institutions interested in material research into stainless steel.

Stainless steel storage tanks for wine manufactured by Chalvignac. Photo: Outokumpu 

Stainless steel was introduced around the turn of the 20th century, initially as a stain-resistant product for household applications. Low maintenance cutlery of stainless steel was a great convenience. Since then, the number of stainless steel grades has dramatically increased. 

Stainless steel strip is produced in rolling mills, by means of hot and then cold rolling. The interaction between the heating of steel slabs, final rolling and cooling creates the product’s final external and internal properties. The properties are determined in the first place by the microstructure, which determine the strength, ductility, hardening, etc. Characteristic of stainless steels is, for example, the resistance to wet corrosion and high-temperature oxidation. 

Stainless steel is normally classified according to the steel’s resulting microstructure: Ferritic, Martensitic, Austenitic, Duplex Ferritic-Austenitic.

Stainless steel occurs often in household appliances, in various types of steel cladding for buildings and structures, in motor vehicles and trains, within healthcare and the food industry, in tubes and pipes for different types of process industry, for handling high temperatures, in corrosive environments, for different transport conveyances, etc.

Committee meetings are arranged 2-3 times per year, alternately at Jernkontoret and at member companies. 

Committee Chairperson

Jan Y. Jonsson, Outokumpu Stainless AB, Avesta

Research Manager

Rachel Pettersson, Jernkontoret

Member companies

Alleima AB, Sandviken
Outokumpu Stainless AB, Avesta

Co-opted members

Swerim AB, Kista

Purpose and general orientation 

  • To seek funding for, to plan and to initiate own projects and external co-funded  projects or major research programmes via co-ordinated contacts between companies, researchers and grant providers
  • To run this process-oriented research, where joint research inputs are included from companies, institutes and universities
  • To promote industrial contacts, to enable the sharing of experiences, to make use of specialist knowledge and to monitor the latest technical developments
  • To strengthen the competitiveness of the Nordic steel industry within the area through using the research results achieved 

How does one become a member of the technical area?

The technical area committee decides on the acceptance of new members. You are welcome to contact the technical area’s Research Manager if you are interested in participating in, or if you have questions concerning, our activities, membership fee etc.