Outokumpu – Duplex stainless steel’s popularity grows as it turns 90

Outokumpu is celebrating 90 years since duplex stainless steel made its debut on the world market. The global leader in stainless steel is using the opportunity to highlight the growing role of duplex grades in supporting sustainability. This is made possible by their superior corrosion resistance and high strength. Thanks to this combination of properties, engineers can create lightweight components and structures that provide a long life and require minimum maintenance – delivering excellent value for money and minimizing use of raw materials. As the inventor of duplex stainless steel, Outokumpu is committed to carry this legacy forward.

Duplex grades have been used widely over the last nine decades in chemical processing, oil and gas, pulp and paper, and food and beverage industries. Additionally, today’s requirements for sustainable solutions make duplex stainless steel a long-lasting alternative to traditional painted or coated carbon steel for bridges and infrastructure.

Peder Claesson, Head of Project Sales at Outokumpu, said: “While duplex stainless steel is now 90 years old, it is proving to be an ideal material for the 21st century. It is strong and durable for industrial environments, but it also looks great and has huge potential to save cost and minimize environmental footprint.”

The first duplex grades were introduced by Outokumpu’s Avesta steelworks in September 1930 as a breakthrough that combined the two most common types of stainless steel, austenitic and ferritic. This enabled metallurgists to create a new material that offered the best properties of both.

Source: Outokumpu, Photo: Fotolia

Since then, a whole family of duplex grades has been developed for specific industrial applications. For example, we have launched a new formable duplex grade to increase strength and efficiency of complex mechanical components such as heat exchanger plates.