News and Events

Following our previous Strength of Steel newsletter, we received a very important  question. A customer has asked us why is it “so hard to sign any kind of contract with Ovako? Or could we at least have some feedback on the contracts we would like to sign.”

Göran Jansson has been appointed as the new Business Unit President of Ovako in Smedjebacken / Boxholm and Anders Henström as the Business Unit President of Ovako in Hällefors. Both changes will take effect on September 28, 2020.

In the previous Strength of Steel we discussed the people side of our interaction and this time we would like to give you feedback on the “organization side of our interaction”.

In this letter we will discuss what conclusions have we drawn to improve the ways we interact with you, our customers.

We are all learning to communicate in new ways and Ovako is no exception. So, we would like to welcome you to our first letter in a series we are calling ‘Strength of Steel’.

Sustainability is a fundamental element of Ovako’s business that enables its steel products to have a carbon footprint 80 percent lower than the global average. This year’s Sustainability Report highlights the continued progress in Ovako’s sustainability efforts, including the achievement of an intermediate target to reduce the ‘cradle-to-gate’ carbon footprint of its finished hot rolled steel products by 30 percent per metric ton.

Rickard Qvarfort has been appointed as the new President of Business Unit Hofors. He starts his new role July 1, 2020 and succeeds Erik Bohman, who has decided to leave Ovako for new opportunities. In conjunction, Björn Wiborg has been appointed Acting President of Business Unit SmeBox.

Together with Linde Gas AB, Ovako has conducted a full-scale trial using hydrogen to heat steel before rolling. The trial was performed with good results in one of the company’s pit furnaces at the Hofors rolling mill in Sweden. This historic development for the steel industry proves that carbon dioxide emissions from rolling can be eliminated provided the right financial support and infrastructure are in place.