Bri-Steel Manufacturing, a North American manufacturer of large-diameter seamless steel pipe, is building its second Thermal Pipe Expansion (TPE) mill in Enid, Okla. The Edmonton, Alberta-based company will employ between 50 and 100 people once in full production. The facility, which is approximately 329,000 square feet and has enough infrastructure for future expansion, will produce seamless carbon steel and alloy steel pipe in sizes 12-36 inches in wall thickness up to 3 inches thick. Bri-Steel has started to procure manufacturing equipment for the plant. Renovations and pre-commissioning work is expected to begin in the next few months, and production should begin by the end of the year.

Tenaris S.A. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Benteler Steel & Tube Manufacturing Corp. for $460 million. Benteler Steel & Tube is a U.S. producer of seamless steel pipe, with an annual pipe rolling capacity of up to 400,000 metric tons at its production facility in Shreveport, La. The acquisition would further expand Tenaris’ production range and manufacturing presence in the U.S. market. Closing is expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2022.

Borusan Mannesmann, one of the Borusan Group companies, will invest approximately $50 million to expand its service area in the United States. The first stage of the investment will bring the pipe production capacity of Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US, its subsidiary operating in Baytown, Texas, to 400,000 tons annually. The expansion will consist of a new mill that will expand the company’s OCTG range alongside its existing OCTG casing and line pipe manufacturing operations. Employment at the Baytown facility is expected to grow by 150 jobs in the first half of 2022.  

L&L Special Furnace Co. Inc. shipped a large gas-fired normalizing furnace to a manufacturer of pipe, tube and fittings used for military contracts. The furnace, which has work dimensions of 48 inches wide x 48 inches high x 120 inches deep, is rated to operate at temperatures of 1300-2200°F (704-1204°C) and is heated with six medium-velocity burners. It will be able to maintain uniformity of ±25°F (±12.5°C) at temperatures above 1300°F (704°C). The car-bottom-style furnace features a load car that moves in and out of the unit on supplied railroad-type rails. The door is mounted to the car, which is motorized with all required stops and clearances. The side seals are pneumatic and seal to the car bottom once the car is inside the furnace. Castable piers provide support for loads up to 10,000 pounds. The furnace is insulated with ceramic-fiber modules.

Tenaris is planning to restart its heat-treatment and finishing lines at its Koppel, Pa., steel mill to streamline the flow of seamless product at its facilities in the northeast. The heat-treatment line, which had been inactive during the 2020 downturn, gives pipe their required metallurgical properties for enhanced performance in oil and gas wells. It started producing steel in June 2021 following a yearlong investment of more than $15 million. 

Tenaris is increasing production at its welded pipe mill in Hickman, Ark., amid the company’s ongoing manufacturing growth across the United States that it kick-started in early 2021. The mill is boosting production of a range of welded OCTG, including proprietary Wedge Series 400 connections, to support growing customer demand. Tenaris is looking to hire an additional 250 employees at the Hickman facility.

American SpiralWeld Pipe Co., a subsidiary of American Cast Iron Pipe Co., plans to expand operations in Richland County, S.C. The $40 million investment will create 100 new jobs. The multi-year expansion, which will increase the company’s capacity to support growing demand, will be accomplished in phases. It is expected to be completed by 2025. American SpiralWeld Pipe manufactures steel pipe in diameters up to 144 inches. Spiral-welded steel pipe applications include transmission, distribution and collection lines for water and wastewater; penstocks; water intakes and outfalls; and structural pilings.

Sandvik Materials Technology received an order for nuclear tubes and pipes from a low-carbon energy company for the development of nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom. Sandvik will supply nuclear tubes and pipes in 29 dimensions in grade 3R65, a molybdenum-alloyed austenitic stainless chromium-nickel steel with a low carbon content. The tubes will be mainly used to connect different systems close to the second reactor at the Hinkley Point C power station in Bristol, England.

L&L Special Furnace Company received an order for a car-bottom furnace from a manufacturer of pipes, tubes and fittings located in the southeastern United States. The gas-fired furnace, scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2021, will be used for normalizing various steels and specialty alloys at temperatures up to 2200°F (1200°C). It will also be used to preheat, stress relieve and temper various steels and large pipe fittings. Working dimensions are 48 inches wide x 48 inches high x 120 inches deep, and uniformity of ±25°F (12.5°C) or better is expected throughout the work zone.

TMK will upgrade pipe heat-treatment equipment at its Pervouralsk Pipe Plant (PNTZ) in Russia to reduce resource consumption and expand its size range of high-tech products. A roller-hearth furnace in a tube drawing shop has already been upgraded. The new technology allowed TMK to decrease the lower temperature limit in the furnace by 200C. The plant can now produce new products – ball bearings, precision and other pipes for the aerospace and automotive industries – with the mechanical properties required by Russian and European quality standards. As part of the upgrade, the furnace was equipped with a new digital process control system that runs a comprehensive equipment diagnostic and automatically adjusts the temperature parameters. PNTZ plans to upgrade two more furnaces in its tube drawing shops in 2021.