Bo Hu receives Ulf Engström Award 2017
May 17, 2017
Staffan Bohman, Chairman of Höganäs Board of Directors, Bo Hu, Melker Jernberg, CEO and Dean Howard, President Business Area Automotive Americas (Courtesy Höganäs)
Höganäs AM, Sweden, has announced that the Ulf Engström Award 2017 has been presented to Bo Hu, who works in product development at the company’s North American facility. Höganäs established the Ulf Engström Award in 2016 to encourage and recognise employee contributions to technical advancements and expanded commercial use of PM technology.
Bo Hu received the Ulf Engström Award 2017 for his contributions to both Höganäs and the Powder Metallurgy industry. While at Höganäs, Hu has worked to develop a line of Super Machinability (SM) additives that help PM customers in the automobile and related industries to machine their products more efficiently and consistently.
Hu’s work developing the company’s SM3, SM4, and Stainless Steel EZ grades is said to have been highly successful. When SM3 was unveiled in 2010, it became one of the most successful new products launched by Höganäs in the past 20 years in terms of increased sales and added value for customers.
Roland Warzel, one of several colleagues who nominated Hu for the honour, wrote that the additive is only one part of Hu’s successful formula. In his nomination letter, he stated, “Bo’s knowledge on machining and how to optimise the machining process to maximise the additive benefit is a key differentiation which our competition cannot match.”
“It is very important to work with the customer in an actual manufacturing environment. We do research and have the depth of understanding of the materials. But the machinist doesn’t know the material and the material engineer doesn’t know machining. It’s very complicated, and kind of a mystery. It’s not just the materials, it’s the tools and the conditions. We try to fill the gaps,” stated Hu.
The jury cited Hu’s ground breaking work and “continuous superior technical support”, but also recognised his humility. “Bo generously shares his knowledge with his colleagues and listens to other people’s views,” the jury wrote. “Bo never looks for individual accolades, but insists on a team aspect of successes.”
