With the new Docol 1700 M, SSAB offers automakers worldwide a new high-strength structural steel for safer, lighter and more fuel-efficient cars with improved environmental performance. The new grade is appropriate for a range of applications including, energy-absorbing details in bumpers.

Docol 1700 M is a cold-rolled advanced high strength steel developed for safety applications in cars with stringent requirements for low weight and high energy absorption.

– A typical application for Docol 1700 M is bumpers, says Olof Carré, Global Product Manager for the Automotive segment within SSAB. It is now possible to produce thin, lightweight steel bumpers that have a high energy absorption capacity and characteristics that are difficult to achieve with other materials. The low weight contributes to good handling and better environmental performance without compromising protection.

Docol 1700 M is an advanced high strength martensitic steel. The steel is well suited for roll forming and is made ​​in thicknesses between 1-1.5 mm. The tensile strength is 1700 N/mm2 and the high strength is achieved in the manufacturing process where a special heat treatment is used together with an extremely high cooling rate.

– We are now taking a new step in the development of advanced high strength steels with a focus on the automotive industry, continues Carré. Manufacturers are calling for lightweight, strong materials with good environmental properties and that additionally, can be manufactured at reasonable costs. Docol 1700 M is one such material that is opening up new opportunities for car manufacturers.

Looking ahead, SSAB sees more uses for Docol 1700 M.

– As the knowledge and awareness of the new material spreads, more designers are seeing the possibilities with this material, explains Carré. We have continual requests by different companies for our strongest and most high-strength steels and they appear in everything from furniture to toys as well as in various construction details.

SSAB is a Nordic and US-based steel company. SSAB offers value added products and services developed in close cooperation with its customers to create a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world. SSAB has employees in over 50 countries. SSAB has production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the US. SSAB is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm and has a secondary listing on the NASDAQ OMX in Helsinki. www.ssab.com.