8 Great quotes from Great Designs in Steel conference

Have you ever attended the Great Designs in Steel (GDIS) conference, administered by the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI)? The event is a rare opportunity to witness the major automakers and heads of steel mills come together to reveal recent developments and trends about their use of steel in vehicles.

Some of the most illuminating quotes from GDIS 2018, held May 16, are:

1. “We are conducting studies on press-hardenable steels with strengths of 2,000 megapascals.” –Johan Nilsson, Gestamp

2. “The 2019 Silverado is the biggest yet and it’s 450 pounds lighter.” – Jeff Sulik and Joy Geeraerts, GM engineers

3. “Ram uses 54 percent high-strength steel in the cab and bed and 98 percent in the frame, yet it still is 255 pounds lighter than last year’s model.” – Dave Reed, FCA US LLC

4. “We developed the world’s first hot-stamped inner and outer door ring system on the Acura RDX.” – Joe Riggsby, Honda R&D Americas Inc.

5. “We run materials comparisons on every model. We always come back to steel.” – An engineer attendee.

6. “We are working on 2024 models right now and we’re nowhere near 54.5 MPG.” – An automaker engineer attendee.

7. “The top four auto producers in China are government-owned. It’s important to fight for a comprehensive trade remedy.” – John Ferriola, Nucor CEO.

8. “This conference has come a long way since the early ones where we brought bag lunches and watched the fire department cut into vehicles made with high-strength steel.” –Steel industry member, commenting on the now 1,500-attendee crowd size and catered, plated event.

Got thoughts? I'd love to hear from you. kateb@thefabricator.com