The Swedish Company, Outokumpu, has branches and facilities across North America including its integrated stainless steel mill in Calvert, Alabama. Recently, five tons of Outokumpu duplex 2507 stainless steel was used to create the first ever boat entirely out of stainless steel. The vessel is a huge innovation for the shipbuilding industry as the use of high strength and durable duplex stainless steel makes the boat maintenance-free as well as resistant to harsh winter weather conditions.
Outokumpus units in Nyby, Avesta and Degerfors (all located in Sweden) delivered the duplex for the 10, 5 meter-long vessel that was built by Swedish Steel Yachts (SSY), which is based in Gävle, Sweden. The use of durable super duplex stainless steel grade 2507 in combination with SSYs patented construction ensures that the hull of the boat can be made very thin without compromising strength. The construction provides a progressive flexibility, which means that the hull moves in a controlled manner when subjected to powerful wave pressure. Mirror finish surface on the bottom of the boat also ensures that water elements dont attach on the boat surface.
Pernilla Wangenborn, sales manager at Outokumpus sales office in Sweden, states, Commonly boats are produced using glass fiber or carbon steel which requires a lot of maintenance in the form of painting. With the use of stainless steel, no maintenance activities are required. Additionally, thanks to the high strength of duplex, considerable weight savings in the boat structure were achieved since thinner material could be used.