Cutting-edge material development for advanced components

- Demanding customers are the common thread in our business, which is otherwise very broad. We supply fine mechanical solutions, technical ceramics, magnesium as a raw material and alkaline soap solutions," says Alain Lennquist, CEO and owner of KG Fridman AB.

Founded in 1927 and initially working exclusively with Swiss agencies, the Karlstad-based company is now a major supplier of customised fine mechanical components.

Important breadth at the fair

As a long-time exhibitor at Elmia Subcontractor, it is exactly this opportunity to meet many different industrial segments that has made KG Fridman return year after year.

- "There is no industrial fair in Sweden that captures such breadth as Elmia Subcontractor does," says Alain Lennquist.

This year, KG Fridman is placing special emphasis on the new range of alkaline cleaning products for industry, but visitors to the stand will also be able to see mechanically machined components supplied to the aerospace industry as well as other products.

System mechanics at a higher level
Many of these components are used in extremely demanding applications such as satellite launches and in aircraft such as the JAS Gripen.

- We cater to demanding customers with specific needs and several of our suppliers are EN 9100 certified, which is the standard for aerospace," says Alain.

But it's not just about mechanical components, it's about whole system solutions.

- 'We try to deliver system mechanics at a higher level,' says Alain Lennquist.

Development of ceramic materials
When it comes to technical ceramics, KG Fridman works with a Spanish supplier, Nanoker, which also assists with the development of ceramic materials, including the use of SPS, Spark Plasma Sintering. The target group for technical ceramics includes the offshore sector, where the requirements for details mean that they must withstand both high pressure and aggressive environments - and be both corrosion and abrasion resistant. SPS can offer solutions to these challenges. Alain explains:

- SPS works much like a hot press, but thanks to weakly electrically conductive metallic components in the ceramic mixture, pulsing 80,000 amps through the mould allows you to heat it to 2,700 degrees in about an hour - under pressure and in a vacuum or under protective gas to avoid oxidation.

Unique subcontracting offer in SPS
The result is a material with higher density and better material properties.

- "With this technology, you can also compact other types of materials than is possible in a conventional hot press," says Alain.

The technology is used in-house, including by manufacturers of inserts, but Nanoker is one of the few players globally to offer SPS as a contract manufacturer.

- And we probably have the largest press with the ability to go up to 400 mm in diameter," says Alain Lennquist.