Think stainless steel, and most people think ‘bright, shiny and silver’. But did you know that specifying stainless steel is not limited by its silver appearance?

Coloured and textured stainless steel is an exciting material choice for designers and architects. In addition to offering a high quality and aesthetically-pleasing finish with choice of colour, stainless steel’s superior benefits when compared with plastics or anodised aluminium include resistance to heat, light, abrasion and corrosion, and overall increased durability and performance extending the service life of the application.

This article will take a look back at the development of coloured stainless steel,

Stainless steel hot water heaters offer superior design combining high thermal efficiency, corrosion resistance, durability and performance for domestic applications.

ASSDA Member Rheem Australia has been committed to delivering hot water systems for over 80 years, with its first gas water heater manufactured in 1939 in Waterloo, Sydney. Through new product development and innovation, Rheem Australia has pioneered the commercial production of Australian-made hot water systems, designed and built for Australian conditions.

Operations Manager at Rheem, Gavan Schaeche, says, “Rheem Moorabbin is leading the way with its very own Stainless Steel and Commercial Centre of Excellence. The centre performs 125km of stainless steel welds

‘Limitless’ is the stainless steel sculptural creation of Gold Coast artist Ian Haggerty, whose concept was selected in a design competition by Bond University to celebrate their 30^th anniversary.

The 6.5m tall sculpture takes pride of place under the university’s iconic Arch and gleams in dignity and elegance from its 316L grade stainless steel construction. Inspired by the limitless possibilities created by education, the sculpture features a world sphere at its centre with four overarching wings representing the four pillars of learning: Learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.

Reflection was also

A collaboration between ASSDA Members using 'gold' stainless steel has delivered the epitome of opulent luxury at The Star Sydney.

The Star Sydney's multi-million-dollar transformation has seen its Pyrmont Street entrance revolutionise the guest arrival experience, with a porte-cochère facing the glittering Darling Harbour and a refurbished Grand Foyer combining innovative architecture, contemporary art and technology.

Over 4000m² of grade 316 stainless steel with a gold finish is featured throughout the Grand Foyer and porte-cochère, enriching the luxurious look and feel of the integrated resort. ASSDA Member Steel Color Australia supplied 1mm and 1.2mm thick stainless steel sheet in

Australian designed and manufactured stainless steel wedge wire grating has been instrumental in delivering 'Aquatique', the first sculptural water installation of its design in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Star Sydney's Grand Foyer has been transformed as part of an $850 million redevelopment for the integrated resort. A unique immersive visual experience is now welcoming guests in a masterfully choreographed interplay of light, water, digital art and live performance.

The key elements of the installation include an 8K resolution, 25m wide crescent-shaped digital screen, laser light shows and 'Aquatique', a cascading sculptural water feature spanning 8m with a 2m diameter centre stage.

A scientific quest to search for dark matter has led to the opportunity for ASSDA Member and Accredited Fabricator Tasweld Engineering to fabricate a specialised stainless steel tank, known as SABRE (Sodium Iodide with Active Background Rejection) Veto Vessel to help facilitate Australian research into answering one of the universe's unsolved mysteries.

The University of Melbourne received $5 million in federal funding to build the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) in an unused gold mine in Western 

Victoria. The facility will house the SABRE Veto Vessel, shielding it from astrophysical particles and enabling a range of experiments to be undertaken

The aim of AS 1528: Stainless steel tubes and tube fittings for food processing and hygienic applications is to standardise hygienic tube and fittings for use in dairy, food and beverage manufacturing. It has been successful in maintaining the required food safety standards in Australia and New Zealand.

AS 1528 was first issued in 2001 and developed by an ASSDA group of stakeholders in the manufacture, supply, fabrication and use of stainless steel tube and associated fittings in the food manufacturing industries.

Changing industry practice, some existing errors, internal consistencies and expansion of sizes required a revision of the standard.

A growing demand for quality wines in China has seen its third-largest winemaker venture onto Australian soil with a new state-of-the-art winery incorporating over 800t of stainless steel. 

Weilong Wines’ winery in Red Cliffs, Northern Victoria is the first Australian winery development of its magnitude for many years, and the company’s investment in the Murray-Darling region is a testament to the strong reputation and quality of Australian wine. Grape crushing for the export-only wine has already commenced following the completion of the winery’s construction in March 2019 and is expected to have wine bottled before the year-end in time for

Setting the benchmark in boutique luxury and innovation using stainless steel is Brisbane’s Emporium Hotel.

Developed by the Anthony John Group, The Emporium Hotel opened in July 2018. Nestled in the premier lifestyle and cultural precinct of South Bank, the 143-suite hotel is turning heads with its exquisite interior design, bespoke handcrafted features and luxurious facilities.

Stainless steel was the material of choice for the five-star hotel and selected for its quality, opulent aesthetic and luxury appeal. Over 5.5 tonnes of grade 304 stainless steel sheet, 1.2mm thick in a No. 8 mirror finish was used throughout the five-star hotel

Stainless Steel Pool Fencing

Safety is the number one consideration when building a pool fence, and stainless steel delivers in compliance and material strength while fulfilling design and aesthetic needs.

A stunning canal-front home on the Gold Coast features a streamlined stainless steel vertical balustrade system as supplied by ASSDA Member Miami Stainless.

The custom-designed stainless steel pool fence features 50mm square mirror-polished posts and upper and lower rails. Complying with Queensland pool fencing and safety barrier regulations, the vertical stainless steel wire balustrades were spaced 80mm apart and installed using Miami Stainless’ Nutsert Swage Stud System on the

Shielding gases form an integral part of all conventional welding processes. 

They serve multiple functions but are primarily there to shield the weld pool from the atmosphere and to provide a medium which can allow the flow of electricity from an electrode to a workpiece. Even processes that do not have an external gas supply such as Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW or MMA or SMAW) and Gasless Flux-cored Arc Welding (FCAW) all have a shielding gas which is generated by the decomposition of the flux in the presence of the welding arc.

The shielding gas can also have an

Stainless steel is playing an important role in delivering effective infrastructure to achieve water savings, securing a sustainable environment and future for irrigation communities in Australia.

Murray Irrigation's Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operator Program (PIIOP) Round 3 in New South Wales is a modernisation project focused on upgrading larger infrastructure within the main canals of its irrigation assets, including Mulwala and Wakool Canals.

Mulwala Canal is Australia’s largest irrigation canal, and together with Wakool Canal runs 157km long. It has the capacity to deliver more than 1,500,000ML of water per year to irrigators in the Southern Riverina, helping to generate more

A new luxury home renovation in Cottesloe, Western Australia is leading the way in cutting-edge bathroom design with a statement stainless steel wall.

ASSDA Member and Accredited Fabricator ALLOY’s stainless steel mosaic tiles are featured in the bathroom designed by Nina Dempster of Ozbyrd Design and architect Paul Jones RBA of a recently constructed addition by builder Adrian Zorzi.

The alluring back wall of the walk-in shower is lined with ALLOY’s “SWISS CROSS” 30x30mm stainless steel mosaic tiles. The mixture of the No. 4 and No. 8 brushed and mirror finish 304-grade solid tiles offers a textured finish with a

When Mark Ellis, a warehouse operations clerk for Atlas Steels, suffered a serious leg injury that resulted from an incident at its Ingleburn Service Centre, the business vowed it wanted to prevent this type of incident from reoccurring.

"It shook the business," says Regional Director, John Pearson. "It was a terrible thing for Mark, his family and for all of our employees. You could see and feel the devastation."

Ellis was injured when he stepped back and collided with a multi-directional sideloader forklift. Atlas’s quest to enhance safety saw the business introduce a number of measures across its operations. Other

What is the fire rating of stainless steel? This is a common enquiry from ASSDA Members and the construction industry, especially with the current concerns about flammable cladding. The three major branches to this question are covered in this article.

Will stainless steel burn, and if it does, will it give off fumes or facilitate the spread of fire?  

This question is readily answered because stainless steels are steels. It is recognised that steels do not burn and only start to melt at about 1400^oC. This means that stainless steels do not have a “fire rating” as

Stainless steel is the ultimate materials solution for electrical enclosures in safeguarding the network and communications technology invested in underground mining sites.

Olympic Dam is a large polymetallic underground mine located in South Australia, approximately 550km northwest of Adelaide.

Home to a major source of oxide copper gold deposit, Olympic Dam produces combined quantities of copper, gold, uranium and silver through an underground mining system integrated with a metallurgical processing plant. The large deposit was discovered in 1975 and in 1988, the mine was opened by WMC Resources. Today, Olympic Dam is owned and operated by BHP, following its acquisition

Mirror finished stainless steel sign blades can be found scattered along the central boulevard of Sydney’s revitalised Darling Harbour.

Through a recent $3.4 billion transformation, Darling Harbour has become Australia’s largest entertainment and events precinct boasting world class facilities, including over 40,000 square metres of exhibition space. This urban rejuvenation builds on the success of Darling Harbour and in turn, will generate $200 million annually in economic benefit for the NSW economy.

The Harbour is ringed by attractions, entertainment and extraordinary waterfront restaurants. The Boulevard creates an active north-south pedestrian connection between Central Station and Cockle Bay. Its prime location

One of the most common misunderstandings in specifications for stainless steel fabrication relates to the post-fabrication treatments to restore or enhance the corrosion resistance. 

The surface treatment processes invoked vary between pickle and passivate, passivate, or sometimes simply pickle. Needless to say, whilst pickling and passivation are two distinct processes, a lack of clarity can cause some confusion between the owner and the builder/fabricator about what is expected and required. 

This article briefly outlines the factors that affect the corrosion resistance of stainless steels, what surface treatments can be used and how they affect the steel’s surface to improve corrosion

Exemplary stainless steel craftmanship has delivered a sophisticated and lavish cocktail lounge in the heart of the Gold Coast’s entertainment hub.

Cocktail connoisseurs have been flocking to Cherry, The Star Gold Coast to experience the designer drinks on offer in the grandeur of the lounge featuring a 22m long bar. Refurbished in 2017 as part of the first stage of the property’s major transformation, its upmarket look and feel was inspired by its sister venue at The Star Sydney.

Central to Cherry’s luxury design is the intricate, gold metalwork featured in the VIP booth screens, lounge surrounds and balustrades. ASSDA

A stainless steel masterpiece

Michael Van Dam’s award-winning stainless steel dragon sculpture plays a major part in Chinese culture dating several thousand years. 

The dragon is a symbol of prosperity, strength, courage and resolve. The designer himself was born in the year of the Dragon (1964). As a result of welding thousands of stainless steel links together, alongside Van Dam’s creativity, a durable and aesthetically pleasing piece of art came to life – The ‘Emerging Dragon’. 

The Emerging Dragon has been showcased at various locations and shows on the Gold Coast. This stainless steel masterpiece was originally created for the