Steel Prize 2023 finalists nominated for pioneering designs
The jury has nominated four applications who stand to win the Swedish Steel Prize 2023. The nominated applications are innovative examples of cutting-edge technology, embracing the possibilities provided by the SSAB premium steel product range. The w
“This year we’re excited to have nominees that point the way towards a more sustainable future. In fact, two applications in the field of mechanical batteries showed such innovative use of steel that we couldn’t decide between the two. So we nominated them both,” says Eva Petursson, chair of the Swedish Steel Prize jury and head of SSAB’s research and innovation.
The finalists and the jury’s motivations are:
DigJim from Norway – ultra-fast maintenance system
This user-driven innovation is a patented system designed for quick exchange of bucket protection parts on site. This solution is opening up for new flexible and sustainable ways of working with maintenance. In addition, by utilizing the strength as well as wear resistance of the material, an extended tooth design for DigJim system has documented increase in productivity in use.
For a new ultra-fast maintenance system with lower cost of ownership and increased productivity DigJim has been nominated for the Swedish Steel Prize 2023.
Gestamp from Spain – front lower control arm
In an application with challenging requirements, Gestamp is pushing material properties for strength and formability. This vital part of the chassis is crucial to everyday operation as well as to safety performance. Utilizing advanced forming technology, this front lower control arm has an optimized single shell design, made possible by introducing a new material strength level.
For an optimized front lower control arm with performance increase, important weight reduction, as well as cost saving Gestamp has been nominated for the Swedish Steel Prize 2023.
Green Buffers from Sweden – new generation train coupling technology
Green Buffers is introducing high-strength steel for energy absorption between rail wagons for increased train safety. This new generation coupling technology opens up for more sophisticated custom design solutions, and offers an extended number of well-defined robust force levels for energy absorption. With a possibility to upgrade existing trains, the improved safety for railway transportation has potential for fast implementation.
With a completely new system supporting their vision – zero uncontrolled derailments related to collisions – Green Buffers has been nominated for the Swedish Steel Prize 2023.
Levistor from the UK and ZOOZ from Israel – mechanical battery for fast charging
These high power mechanical batteries using a new flywheel steel design are sustainable solutions for a more sustainable world. Mechanical batteries offer increased service life, no degradation and a smaller material footprint compared to chemical batteries. In this upgraded steel solution, a safer operation is also achieved by replacing traditional flywheel designs with layers of high-strength steel, isolating failure and limiting damage.
With a new flywheel steel design for increased safety, extended service life and lower LCC in a 100% recyclable material, Levistor and ZOOZ have been nominated for the Swedish Steel Prize 2023.
World’s most prestigious steel prize
The Swedish Steel Prize celebrates engineering, cooperation and steel innovations that lead to a better and more sustainable world. It inspires engineers, designers and inventors to further explore the unlimited potential of steel.
For further information, please contact:
Eva Petursson
Chair of the Jury, Swedish Steel Prize
Email:eva.petursson@ssab.com
Anna Rutkvist
Project Manager, Swedish Steel Prize
Email: anna.rutkvist@ssab.com
About SSAB
SSAB is a Nordic and US-based steel company. SSAB offers value added products and services developed in close cooperation with its customers to create a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world. SSAB has employees in over 50 countries. SSAB has production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the US. SSAB is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has a secondary listing on Nasdaq Helsinki. www.ssab.com.
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As U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face an uncertain business landscape in 2025, a substantial majority (67%) expect positive growth in the new year compared to 2024, according to a survey from DHL.
However, the survey also showed that businesses could face a rocky road to reach that goal, as they navigate a complex environment of regulatory/policy shifts and global market volatility. Both those issues were cited as top challenges by 36% of respondents, followed by staffing/talent retention (11%) and digital threats and cyber attacks (2%).
Against that backdrop, SMEs said that the biggest opportunity for growth in 2025 lies in expanding into new markets (40%), followed by economic improvements (31%) and implementing new technologies (14%).
As the U.S. prepares for a broad shift in political leadership in Washington after a contentious election, the SMEs in DHL’s survey were likely split evenly on their opinion about the impact of regulatory and policy changes. A plurality of 40% were on the fence (uncertain, still evaluating), followed by 24% who believe regulatory changes could negatively impact growth, 20% who see these changes as having a positive impact, and 16% predicting no impact on growth at all.
That uncertainty also triggered a split when respondents were asked how they planned to adjust their strategy in 2025 in response to changes in the policy or regulatory landscape. The largest portion (38%) of SMEs said they remained uncertain or still evaluating, followed by 30% who will make minor adjustments, 19% will maintain their current approach, and 13% who were willing to significantly adjust their approach.
The overall national industrial real estate vacancy rate edged higher in the fourth quarter, although it still remains well below pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis by Cushman & Wakefield.
Vacancy rates shrunk during the pandemic to historically low levels as e-commerce sales—and demand for warehouse space—boomed in response to massive numbers of people working and living from home. That frantic pace is now cooling off but real estate demand remains elevated from a long-term perspective.
“We've witnessed an uptick among firms looking to lease larger buildings to support their omnichannel fulfillment strategies and maintain inventory for their e-commerce, wholesale, and retail stock. This trend is not just about space, but about efficiency and customer satisfaction,” Jason Tolliver, President, Logistics & Industrial Services, said in a release. “Meanwhile, we're also seeing a flurry of activity to support forward-deployed stock models, a strategy that keeps products closer to the market they serve and where customers order them, promising quicker deliveries and happier customers.“
The latest figures show that industrial vacancy is likely nearing its peak for this cooling cycle in the coming quarters, Cushman & Wakefield analysts said.
Compared to the third quarter, the vacancy rate climbed 20 basis points to 6.7%, but that level was still 30 basis points below the 10-year, pre-pandemic average. Likewise, overall net absorption in the fourth quarter—a term for the amount of newly developed property leased by clients—measured 36.8 million square feet, up from the 33.3 million square feet recorded in the third quarter, but down 20% on a year-over-year basis.
In step with those statistics, real estate developers slowed their plans to erect more buildings. New construction deliveries continued to decelerate for the second straight quarter. Just 85.3 million square feet of new industrial product was completed in the fourth quarter, down 8% quarter-over-quarter and 48% versus one year ago.
Likewise, only four geographic markets saw more than 20 million square feet of completions year-to-date, compared to 10 markets in 2023. Meanwhile, as construction starts remained tempered overall, the under-development pipeline has continued to thin out, dropping by 36% annually to its lowest level (290.5 million square feet) since the third quarter of 2018.
Despite the dip in demand last quarter, the market for industrial space remains relatively healthy, Cushman & Wakefield said.
“After a year of hesitancy, logistics is entering a new, sustained growth phase,” Tolliver said. “Corporate capital is being deployed to optimize supply chains, diversify networks, and minimize potential risks. What's particularly encouraging is the proactive approach of retailers, wholesalers, and 3PLs, who are not just reacting to the market, but shaping it. 2025 will be a year characterized by this bias for action.”
The three companies say the deal will allow clients to both define ideal set-ups for new warehouses and to continuously enhance existing facilities with Mega, an Nvidia Omniverse blueprint for large-scale industrial digital twins. The strategy includes a digital twin powered by physical AI – AI models that embody principles and qualities of the physical world – to improve the performance of intelligent warehouses that operate with automated forklifts, smart cameras and automation and robotics solutions.
The partners’ approach will take advantage of digital twins to plan warehouses and train robots, they said. “Future warehouses will function like massive autonomous robots, orchestrating fleets of robots within them,” Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said in a release. “By integrating Omniverse and Mega into their solutions, Kion and Accenture can dramatically accelerate the development of industrial AI and autonomy for the world’s distribution and logistics ecosystem.”
Kion said it will use Nvidia’s technology to provide digital twins of warehouses that allows facility operators to design the most efficient and safe warehouse configuration without interrupting operations for testing. That includes optimizing the number of robots, workers, and automation equipment. The digital twin provides a testing ground for all aspects of warehouse operations, including facility layouts, the behavior of robot fleets, and the optimal number of workers and intelligent vehicles, the company said.
In that approach, the digital twin doesn’t stop at simulating and testing configurations, but it also trains the warehouse robots to handle changing conditions such as demand, inventory fluctuation, and layout changes. Integrated with Kion’s warehouse management software (WMS), the digital twin assigns tasks like moving goods from buffer zones to storage locations to virtual robots. And powered by advanced AI, the virtual robots plan, execute, and refine these tasks in a continuous loop, simulating and ultimately optimizing real-world operations with infinite scenarios, Kion said.
Following the deal, Palm Harbor, Florida-based FreightCenter’s customers will gain access to BlueGrace’s unified transportation management system, BlueShip TMS, enabling freight management across various shipping modes. They can also use BlueGrace’s truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) services and its EVOS load optimization tools, stemming from another acquisition BlueGrace did in 2024.
According to Tampa, Florida-based BlueGrace, the acquisition aligns with its mission to deliver simplified logistics solutions for all size businesses.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the firms said that FreightCenter will continue to operate as an independent business under its current brand, in order to ensure continuity for its customers and partners.
BlueGrace is held by the private equity firm Warburg Pincus. It operates from nine offices located in transportation hubs across the U.S. and Mexico, serving over 10,000 customers annually through its BlueShip technology platform that offers connectivity with more than 250,000 carrier suppliers.
Under terms of the deal, Sick and Endress+Hauser will each hold 50% of a joint venture called "Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG," which will strengthen the development and production of analyzer and gas flow meter technologies. According to Sick, its gas flow meters make it possible to switch to low-emission and non-fossil energy sources, for example, and the process analyzers allow reliable monitoring of emissions.
As part of the partnership, the product solutions manufactured together will now be marketed by Endress+Hauser, allowing customers to use a broader product portfolio distributed from a single source via that company’s global sales centers.
Under terms of the contract between the two companies—which was signed in the summer of 2024— around 800 Sick employees located in 42 countries will transfer to Endress+Hauser, including workers in the global sales and service units of Sick’s “Cleaner Industries” division.
“This partnership is a perfect match,” Peter Selders, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group, said in a release. “It creates new opportunities for growth and development, particularly in the sustainable transformation of the process industry. By joining forces, we offer added value to our customers. Our combined efforts will make us faster and ultimately more successful than if we acted alone. In this case, one and one equals more than two.”
According to Sick, the move means that its current customers will continue to find familiar Sick contacts available at Endress+Hauser for consulting, sales, and service of process automation solutions. The company says this approach allows it to focus on its core business of factory and logistics automation to meet global demand for automation and digitalization.
Sick says its core business has always been in factory and logistics automation, which accounts for more than 80% of sales, and this area remains unaffected by the new joint venture. In Sick’s view, automation is crucial for industrial companies to secure their productivity despite limited resources. And Sick’s sensor solutions are a critical part of industrial automation, which increases productivity through artificial intelligence and the digital networking of production and supply chains.