No. 112: Stainless steel that contains 23% less chrome (July 25, 2010)

Nippon Steel Corporation Sumitomo Metal Industries developed stainless steel that contains 23% less chrome than the conventional product. The company added about 0.1% tin to reduce the content of chrome whose price fluctuates greatly, and successfully reduced the price fluctuations of stainless steel besides increasing the corrosion resistance and workability. It named the new product NSSCFW1 and already started to ship samples. The chromium series stainless steel contains more than 18.0% chrome, but the new product contains only 14% chrome. Tin that the company added to stainless steel for the first time in the world increased the stability of the thin film on the surface of the steel plate. The new product is expected to be 10-20% cheaper than the high-end chromium series stainless steel, and the company plans to achieve annual sales of 100,000 tons in three years.