Mantella wins Swedish Steel Prize

The winner of this year’s international Swedish Steel Prize from SSAB is Mantella S.r.l. from Italy. The prize was awarded for the company’s Stratosphere 3.0 rear tipping semitrailer.

“Mantella has come up with a unique design that represents an entirely new generation in tipper and body solutions. Skilled design work, smart production methods, and fully utilizing the advantages of high-strength and wear-resistant steel made it possible,” said Eva Petursson, chair of the Swedish Steel Prize jury and head of SSAB’s strategic R&D.

The semitrailer offers a chassis with the same weight as an aluminum frame, but with superior mechanical properties, says the company. It has excellent wear resistance, a greater fatigue life, and a weight reduction of about 30 percent when compared to previous trailer chassis.

The chassis is made entirely of high-strength steel with formed Z-beams instead of the classic welded I profile. Eliminating the welded beams helps improve fatigue resistance and production efficiency, the manufacturer reports. It also increases load capacity while maintaining low weight. The body also is made from steel.