COMFORTABLE LOW-WEIGHT PRAM IN HIGH-STRENGTH STEEL
12 August 2000 - SSAB Tunnplåt AB

Emmaljunga, the Swedish pram, pushchair and stroller manufacturer, has developed a new pram in extra high-strength steel. Merits include its low weight, excellent suspension and shock absorption, high resistance to tensile stress and environmentally-adapted production of a totally recyclable chassis. The company describes the new pram as more comfortable for the child compared to pram chassis made of other materials.

Emmaljunga has selected Docol 600DL as the chassis material for the new pram, a cold-reduced extra high-strength steel from SSAB. The 22 x1.0 mm chassis pipes are produced by the Finnish company Rautaruukki Metform.

"The high strength has enabled us to reduce the material thickness of the tubes to half that of aluminium tubing, without compromising on strength," says Eskil Persson of Emmaljunga AB.

"This gives us a strong, lightweight pram. The steel's properties, moreover, give it a smooth, elastic movement."

"Steel prams used to be more common, but because of the demand for lighter prams, aluminium was the dominant material for a long time. The new, modern high-strength steel materials developed by SSAB Swedish Steel mean that lightweight prams can also be manufactured in steel.

In addition to greater strength and resilience, the steel also has environmental advantages which other materials are rarely able to match. Emmaljunga's new pram is constructed on the basis of an eco-friendly approach, its manufacture has the lowest possible impact on the environment and the pram is completely recyclable once it has served its useful life. The steel is also more hard-wearing than alternative materials, which explains the pram's long lifespan.

Mr Persson points out a further advantage, the steel is easy to work and this enables very narrow bending radii to be used in the design.

"The working properties have enabled the development of a new, completely automated manufacturing method for bending, hole-punching and shearing," Mr Persson points out. "We have also been able to enhance our existing, very popular chassis design which is compact and easily transportable when folded. Hole-punching and shearing is now easier thanks to the combined hardness and thickness of the tubing. This has meant that subsidence around the holes, otherwise a common problem which can weaken the chassis, is avoided."

Emmaljunga anticipates considerable interest in the new steel pram throughout Europe.

"Child safety and security can never be overestimated. Children spend a lot of time in their prams, so these need to be stable, withstand considerable stress and be comfortable, both for the child and the person pushing the pram. The new high-strength steel pram scores highly on all of these points," Mr Persson concludes.

Emmaljunga was awarded second prize for its new pram at the recent awards ceremony of the Swedish Steel Prize, the international engineering industry event.

"Emmaljunga's work is a good example of innovative industrial design which includes the use of high-strength steel", says Cecilia Dalén, Swedish Steel Prize project manager at SSAB Swedish Steel.

"The competition is open to any company, anywhere in the world, which includes the use of high-strength steel in its design work, irrespective of which high-strength steel or supplier it uses. We have instituted the prize to recognise innovative thinking the world over."

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