108 Years of Stainless Steel

It’s Friday the 13th, some would say unlucky for some.  However, Friday the 13th this year marks a special occasion for EWFM and the steel industry.  On this day 108 years ago in 1913 a Mr Harry Brearley invented Stainless Steel.   The emergence of Stainless Steel: At this time Brearley was actually investigating new varieties of steel to reduce erosion in gun barrels.  He discovered that adding the judicious admixture of 12% chromium to molten Iron produces a metal that did not rust.  At this period of time he named it ‘Rustless Steel” which in today’s world was renamed to Stainless Steel. Brearley would not have realised the extent of his discovery.  In 2020 just under 50.9 million metric tons were produced worldwide. To give this some perspective, this is the same weight as 509,000 Boeing 757 passenger Airplanes.  Stainless Steel is now used everywhere from architecture, to cookware, from cars to medical applications, the majority of us can’t last a day without running into Stainless Steel. So why do EWFM find Stainless Steel so special?  Due to its anti rusting properties EWFM offer Stainless Steel construction In nearly all of their products. That’s right, we offer all of the following products in Stainless Steel: Swivel Joints Loading Arms Storage Tank Equipment Filling and Emptying Equipment Couplings Breakaways   So why are the anti rusting properties useful to EWFM? EWFM supply products all over the globe for many applications.  Including companies that are involved with salty atmosphere offshore, salt is a catalyst for rust, therefore Stainless Steel is ideal for slowing this down.  There are also many medias within the oil and chemical world that contain properties that increase the speed of corrosion. What Brearley wouldn’t of known is that certain grades of Stainless Steel can also be made ‘food grade’.  Some grades can be electro polished, which eliminates any uneven surfaces that could result in bacterial growth.  It can then be easily cleaned and sanitised.  EWFM therefore have supplied many products for the Whisky, Beer, Food and Drink industries. I therefore believe today we should all give out a thought to Mr Harry Brearley, what an amazing discovery he made. For more information on the products above, please visit the products section on our website. As always, get in touch with our Sales Team to discuss your next requirement wherever you are in the world and we will be delighted to help. Tel          : +44 (0) 1763 248650 Email     : sales@ewfm.co.uk To keep up to date with news on how we are supporting our customers, our latest blogs and new services available, keep checking in on our website throughout the year and follow us on social media including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter& Instagram.

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