Every day we are in constant contact with products made of rolled steel and metal, in various forms and shapes.
• Cars have numerous components comprised of rolled steel and aluminum.
• Packaging products, such as beverage cans and aluminum foil, and even the aluminum foil safety seal that keeps medicine in their package, are made of rolled metal.
• In our homes, essential appliances such as refrigerators, water heaters, and dishwashers, can only be made using rolled steel and alloy.
We could go on and on, listing all the items that we touch, that we use and that we rely on in our daily life that are produced using high-precision rotating tools in the form of high-quality forged and cast rolls. In fact, you are likely using a product today where a cast or forged roll from Union Electric Åkers has played a vital part in its production.
Modern advances in metallurgy and steel rolling innovation have given us the ability to manufacture metal to ultra-thin measurements. Ultra-thin materials are used in aerospace and military applications, high-efficiency motors, sensing applications, and high-temperature strip products. Now we can even use rolled steel products in clothing!
One of our long-term customer; Voestalpine Precision Strip AB, also known in Sweden as Munkfors, for short. Although best known for their valve steels, razor & scalpel blades and blades for the paper industry, the company has recently gained a new field of application in haute couture featured on the fashion runway and the red carpet.
By combining the know-how of rolling extremely thin strip products, with the advanced rolls technology provided by Union Electric Åkers, steel was used to create a designer dress for a rising actress at a recent awards gala.
It all started in 2015, when Swedish fashion designer, Naim Josefi, began his collaboration with the steel industry. With the assistance of a Swedish producer of metal cutting tools. Josefi 3D printed a pair of shoes for the music recording artist, Lady Gaga.
The 3D shoe project left Josefi wanting more. He next got the idea of creating a dress made entirely of very thin steel. An idea that eventually brought him in contact with Munkfors, a manufacturer that once upon a time produced steel used in corsets and crinolines.
"I asked them to colour steel for me, and then they sent me some samples that were amazing, and well, off we went," says Josefi. Through a series of controlled oxidation experiments, researchers were able to colour the thin steel strip in different shades of blue.
Josefi’s haute couture creation consists of 6,000 steel pieces, hand sewn and designed exclusively for the film star actress, Bahar Pars, who wore the dress at the Academy Awards ceremony in February 2017.
The Union Electric Åkers rolls that are used in the rolling mill of Munkfors are Work Rolls with the following specifications:
Dimensions : Ø80mm x 280mm x 620mm
Grade: INDRA Series
Barrel Hardness: 860-910 HV
To conclude, Union Electric Åkers and Naim Josefi have one thing in common … our products are tailor-made.
Each of the 6,000 razor-thin steel pieces was sewn on by hand