PRESS RELEASE
April 2, 1996
Premiere at
TUBE-96 Düsseldorf
15 - 19 April 1996
Stand 13 E 33
High-yield strength, stainless
steel hollow sections open new possibilities for designers

Finnish steel tube manufacturer, Stala Oy, has recently introduced the first hollow stainless steel sections which meet the EU’s EC-3 standard (class C700) yield strength requirements. The hollow sections, called Stala-350, are made from austenitic stainless steel using a patented manufacturing method. The result is a product with a yield strength which, according to the manufacturer, is more than 350 MPa. This fulfils current and pending EU regulations and means that designers are able to utilize the entire yield range of the section. Previous designs meant that certain hollow sections could only be classified as steel plate with a yield strength of just 220 MPa. The new hollow sections come in thicknesses of between 3 and 6 mm and in square section of 25 x 25 mm up to 150 x 150 mm, and rectangular sections of 50 x 30 mm up to 150 x 100 mm.

Today, hollow steel sections are used in load bearing constructions, designs where appearance and hygiene are of importance, in various kinds of equipment and in corrosive environments.
”Steel sections are used by the construction industry for balconies and glass walls, in the foodstuff, petrochemical and process industries, and in vehicle and bus chassis. Now that the revised regulations allow us to apply higher loads on hollow steel sections, we are confident that we will find a number of new applications”, says Jan Christiansen, President of Stala Oy in Lahti, Finland.

New construction handbook
Durability calculations for the new steel sections are based on a joint R & D project carried out by the Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland and Stala Oy. Researcher, Pekka Yrjölä has conducted a comprehensive programme which has taken two and a half years to complete. He has been able to determine how the yield structure is affected by deformation when rolling stainless steel plates into stainless steel hollow sections.
The result of his work has been compiled in a new handbook called ”Stala-350”. The book contains guidelines for designs using hollow steel sections and is the first of its kind ever produced.

Comprehensive assortment
The bulk of the company’s output is square hollow sections in dimensions varying from 20 x 20 mm to 150 x 150 mm and rectangular sections of between 30 x 20 mm and 150 x 100 mm. These are made from austenitic stainless steel AISI 304, AISI 304L and AISI 316, AISI 316L and AISI 316Ti.
Stala Oy’s 1995 turnover was FIM 200 million whereof hollow steel section sales accounted for more than 80 per cent. The company’s output capacity is more than 12,000 tons per year. Also part of the company’s product range are stainless steel sinks and complete refuse sorting systems for kitchens. The company has production facilities in Lahti, Finland and Moerdijk, Holland. Approximately 95 per cent of Stala’s total output is sold for export, mainly to northern and western Europe, the United States and the Far East./ins


Captions:
(1)
Stala-350 is the first stainless steel hollow section which fulfils the EU’s durability requirements in accordance with the EC-3 standard (class C700).

(2)
The new EU regulations and construction guidelines can be found in the company’s ”Handbook for hollow stainless steel sections” which allows designers to use the product’s full 350 MPa yield strength.

For further information contact:
STALA Oy
President, Jan Christiansen
Taivalkatu 7,
FIN-15170 Lahti
Finland
Tel: +358 18 882 110
Fax: +358 18 882 1114