For developing the Maverick range of dedicated light duty vehicles (LDV) for mining, which provide maintenance, repair and lifecycle advantages never before seen on the market, Fermel has been named a finalist for the Swedish Steel Prize 2017.

The Swedish Steel Prize is an international prize that honours the art of engineering and innovation in the steel industry. Fermel, from South Africa, is one of four finalists for this year?s prize, which will be awarded during a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden on May 11.

?We identified this opportunity on the basis that new mining legislation and tighter safety requirements were due in the not too distant future, and we knew the commercial units would soon be under pressure,? saysCorn? Wehr, Product Design Manager at Fermel.

The resulting Maverick range of LDVs is designed specifically for the harsh underground mining environment. It is an uninhibited mining vehicle that can be used for a wide range of applications and outperforms current offerings. In total, about 90 per cent high-strength steel is used in the design of the Maverick range of vehicles. The combination of high-strength steel and wear-resistant steel provides improved safety and wear resistance, as well as higher payloads of up to 2.5 tons without compromising the vehicle?s fatigue life.

?In essence, the desired outcomes for this product would not be easily achieved if we did not have advanced high-strength steel materials as an option, as conventional methods would compromise the vehicle characteristics to the point that our product offering would have been very limited and possibly very difficult to sell,? explains Maxine Penn, Director of Sales and Marketing at Fermel.