Sandvik AB is a Swedish multinational engineering company specializing in products and services for mining, rock excavation, rock drilling, rock processing, metal cutting and machining. The company was founded in Gävleborg County, Sweden, in 1862. In 2023, it had approximately 41,000 employees and a revenue of 127 billion SEK, with sales in around 170 countries.
LH 517 loader from Sandvik
Göran Fredrik Göransson, founder of Sandvik
Ruins of the blast furnace at Edsken, Hofors Municipality, with a half-size replica of a Bessemer converter
LH 514 loader from Sandvik
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten.
Bessemer converter, schematic diagram
Bessemer converter, Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield, England (2010).
Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo described the Japanese use of the Bessemer process.
William Kelly is credited with experimenting with a similar process before Bessemer's patent.
