SMS Meer received an order from Tenaris for the supply of a PQF® plant for its Bay City, Texas, facility, which produces seamless tubes with improved tolerances. The PQF plant, which has a capacity of 600,000 tons of tubes (up to 9 5/8 inches) per year, will enable Tenaris to meet the increased demand for precise, high-strength tubes for shale-gas extraction in the U.S. The new plant is scheduled to go on stream in 2016. SMS Meer will supply the plant engineering and is responsible for supervision of erection and commissioning, including customer training. This is the first seamless tube plant set up by Tenaris at a production site in the U.S. Five years ago, the company ordered a 7-inch PQF plant from SMS Meer for its site in Tamsa, Mexico.