On November 1, 2017, GONVVAMA Changshu is officially completed and put into operation. This equal-share partition joint venture between Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel Co., Ltd.(VAMA) and Gonvarri Steel Services will focus on the integrated forming of hot stamped steel, advanced high-strength steel (AHSS), ultrahigh-strength steel and exposed plate and the processing of laser welded parts.
GONVVAMA is established at the right time
Whereas VAMA (an equal-share partition joint venture between ArcelorMittal and VAMA) has gained stable influence in China in recent years, ArcelorMittal decides to extend its supply chain so as to go beyond its own role as the product supplier, and bring its downstream technologies to Chinese market by becoming a solution provider.
“It may be said that GONVVAMA is established at the right time”, said Dr. Yin Qingdong, Chief Technology Officer in the interview with a journalist from Gasgoo. He said, due to increasing stringent fuel emission regulations for Chinese automotive market, how to help automotive manufacturers meet the regulatory requirements within the timeline has become a vision for ArcelorMittal, the steel production and solutions provider.
To our knowledge, headquartered in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, GONVVAMA currently has 4 Advanced Technologies and Solutions Centers (ATS) in four cities in China, including Loudi, Changshu, Shenyang and Chongqing, thus covering the major automotive clusters in China. In addition, these ATSs are also equipped with the most advanced irregular shape blank and laser welding processing lines of the class. As part of the joint venture, GONVVAMA not only introduces proprietary technologies and rich experience of ArcelorMittal in steels, but also provides its customers with a complete set of steel services and solutions through its own processing network and SSC strategic partners, thereby helping automotive manufacturers meet the challenges of body weight saving, improved safety performance and environmental protection.
Advanced technologies to build integrated form door ring
As the extended supporter of VAMA’s downstream industry chain, GONVVAMA is committed to providing quality integrated solutions of products and technological services. For instance, it uses the most advanced manufacturing technologies to produce cold formed and hot formed steels, including Usibor® 2000 and Ductibor® 1000, irregular shape blank and laser welded parts (LWB) made from the 3rd generation ultrahigh-strength press hardened steel, and exposed steels.
Dr. Yin Qingdong told us that thanks to ArcelorMittal’s technical support, GONVVAMA has released a couple of revolutionary new concepts, including hot stamped LWB used for safety cage body, which not only improve passengers’ safety, but also plays an important role in weight saving of body in white and reduction of total assembly cost.
It is notable that the integrated formed door ring developed by ArcelorMittal may be the centralized demonstration of LWB advantages. “Different from previous composition of ten parts, the door ring adopting the technology only consists of a single LWB. It reduces material cost significantly, simplifies the production process through effective blank layout and optimization, and improves the performance of each part through continuous laser welding and new materials.”
S-in motion® solutions for EV
In addition, in the face of China’s growing market of new energy vehicles, the weight reduction issue relating to the market has also become the industrial focus of concern. New challenges regarding crash management follow due to significant changes in body weight and balance arising from replacement of original internal combustion engine with heavier battery. Moreover, stronger safety and crash protection is required for battery and battery holder.
According to Dr. Yin Qingdong, in weight saving under the prerequisite of safety guaranteed, advanced high-strength steel will play a critical role in the manufacturing of EVs.
According to Dr. Yin Qingdong, ArcelorMittal Global R&D and Gonvvama have been always developing specific S-in motion® solutions for EV in response to China regulations. Such solutions, which integrate the most advanced AHSS and hot stamped steel grades, help customers achieve excellent crash safety performance with considerable weight saving and nearly no penalty in cost.
