Ruukki introduce Raex direct-quenched wear plate

FROM their base in Raahe, in the north of Finland, Ruukki have a long-standing reputation for producing high-quality steel grades for use in demanding applications.

Major investments in the last three years, however, have expanded the company’s product range markedly and Ruukki are now able to offer a new line of Raex wear-resistant steels to the quarrying, mining and materials-handling industries.

The company can now produce a range of Raex wear plate grades in 400, 450 and 500HB variants. Historically these materials were produced in two stages: after the initial hot-rolling operation the plates were subjected to a separate heat treatment.

Now, however, new developments at Ruukki mean that these materials can be produced by direct quenching, so the steel is rolled and hardened in line as part of a single integrated production process, resulting in a high-quality surface finish that does not require shot-blasting to remove the excess scale caused by reheating.

The company says it has installed direct quenching technology in both its strip mill and its reversing plate mill, allowing Raex wear plate to be produced across a wide range of sizes all at the same high quality.

According to Ruukki, these new materials are already generating a great deal of interest among producers of rigid and articulated dumptrucks, excavator and backhoe loader buckets, tipper bodies, and mining, quarrying, crushing and screening equipment across Europe.