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Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
ITATUBE
       Journal
                                                            No3/October 2019
                                                                  www.itatube.org
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Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers

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Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
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Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
Editorial

Greetings from Dr. Gunther Voswinckel
President International Tube Association
Dear Members, dear Readers,

As ever, it is my pleasure to wish   Focussing on consolidation and
you a warm welcome to the latest     adaptability faced with chang-
edition of ITAtube Journal, the      ing markets and an increasingly
International Tube Association’s     high-tech environment, numerous
popular publication – and the last   presentation papers provided a
edition for 2019.                    basis for discussion. As promised,
                                     those papers were made avail-
We can look back on an exciting      able to members in the weeks
and extremely busy year – which      that followed the Conference and
is of course far from over, with     will very soon be accessible to
major expos such as the Fabtech      non-members.
in Chicago still ahead – but we
prefer by far to train our sights    The event proved popular and
on 2020 and the next really major    demand ensures that we are now         Dr. Gunther Voswinckel
event in the Messe Düsseldorf cal-   planning the ITA Conference            President ITA
endar.                               2021. We are certain that inter-
                                     est will grow and we will keep
Experts from around the world        colleagues and members informed
will once again converge on Düs-     of our progress throughout the
seldorf and its well-known trade     coming months. News of devel-
fair grounds for Tube Düsseldorf,    opments will be available in fol-
March 30 – April 3 2020. Many        lowing Journal editions, on the
guests have been coming for years    main website, and the bespoke
and the Tube expo on its home        Conference website will be kept
ground is a regular in calendars     constantly updated whenever new
throughout our industry sector.      details become available.

As ever, the fair’s Students Day     Members can of course expect to
(April 3) is organized by ITA and    see the familiar newsletters when-
gives young talent a chance to       ever there is anything to report.
hobnob with experts and profes-      As it says in our mission state-
sionals with a little more experi-   ment, we actively seek to foster
ence – which they are naturally      knowledge exchange and network-
delighted to share.                  ing, and to this end have a great
                                     deal planned for Q4 2019 and for
To cast our minds back just for a    the new business year.
moment: Last April saw of course
our ITA Conference 2019 under        Stay with us to stay informed, and
the heading Trend-setting Tech-      enjoy the read!
nologies and Strategies for Tubes
& Pipes. Experts and professionals
from all over the world convened
at the trade fair grounds of Messe
Düsseldorf in Germany for a 3-day
exchange of expertise and innova-
tive ideas.

                                                                          ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   3
Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
50.000

            Table of contents
 37.500

                                                           Editorial
 25.000
                                                          Greetings from Dr. Gunther Voswinckel                                     3
                                                          Table of contents                                                         4

 12.500
                                                           Market information

6
                                                          World Steel Tube Production – Forecast                                    6

     0
                                                          Dr. G. Voswinckel, VOSCO GmbH – World Pipe & Tube Market                  8
          Germany EU     USA Japan GUS India China Other World
     40
     30
     20     World Steel Tube Production –                  Technical Papers
     10     Forecast
                                                          SMS group GmbH – Wafer-thin layers and a great future                    18
      0

                                                           Member News
                                                          Atomat SpA – celebrates 50 years of prominent and successful activity    22
                                                          Bossi S.r.l. – Flat Grinding Machine RSP 150/2500/8UR-150                23
                                                          BÜLTMANN – 10-roll tube straightening machines                           24
                                                          Danieli S.p.A. – DigiMelter: the revolutionary system to melt steel      25
                                                          Danieli S.p.A. – Breda upgrade for special steel pipe                    25

18
                                                          Danieli S.p.A. – Fully automated slab handling for inventory management 26
                                                          Fives Bronx Ltd – finishing equipment chosen for seamless pipe production 27
                                                          MAC – Corp’s Long-Time President and Chairman William Gould              28

            Wafer-thin layers and a great future          Mair Research S.P.A. – cold drawn tube production and finishing lines    29
            – Additive Manufacturing at SMS               Olimpia80 – leader company in linear cage forming Technology             30
            group
                                                          PURES-tubes – 10 years PURES-tubes                                       31
                                                          Quaker – Reduced drying time with water based coating replacement        32
                                                          Roll-Kraft – adds electrical discharge machine                           34
                                                          Roll-Kraft – appoints senior technical performance specialist            35
                                                          Roll-Kraft – welcomes technical performance specialist                   35
                                                          Reika – delivers to the manufacturer of tipping cylinders based in the UK 36
                                                          Schwarze-Robitec – presents highly efficient tube bending solutions      38
                                                          Schwarze-Robitec – Bending under maximum load with the CNC 220 HD        39

48
                                                          SMS group GmbH – At METEC 2019, digitalization live experience           40
                                                          SMS group GmbH – Zekelman Ind. contracts supply of continuous ERW tube 42
                                                          SMS group GmbH – Padana Tubis new 16 ¾-inch ERW tube welding line        43
            Schwarze-Robitec GmbH – Precise               Xiris Automation Inc. – Xiris Appoints New Sales Manager for SE Asia     44
            bending under maximum load with
            the CNC 220 HD                                Xiris Automation Inc. – Celebrates 30 Years!                             44

              4        ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
Table of contents

         Reviews & Previews
        Review: Tube & Steel Istanbul 2019               46
        Review: Tube Russia 2019                         47
        Review: Bright World of Metals                   48
        Review: wire and Tube Southeast Asia 2019        50

                                                                                                           47
        Review: TUBOTECH 2019                            52
        Preview: Tube & Wire                             54
        Preview: Tube 2020                               56
        Preview: SAW Expo                                57
                                                                 I ndustry 4.0 in focus of Tube Russia,
        Preview: THERMPROCESS China                      58       Metallurgy Russia and Litmash
                                                                  Russia 2019
        Diary of world class tube events                 60

          ITA Inside
        Rate Card                                        62
        Membership Application Form                      64

                                                                                                       56
        List of advertisers, Imprint                     67

                                                                         MSG Maschinenbau GmbH
                                                                         Hünegräben 17a
                                                                         57392 Schmallenberg
                                                                         Phone: +49 (0) 2972 - 9 77 40 0
                                                                         Fax: +49 (0) 2972 - 9 77 40 19
                                                                         E-Mail: kontakt@msg-maschinenbau.de
                                LARGE PIPE MEASUREMENT                   Website: www.msg-maschinenbau.de

anzeige_msg_210x110.indd 1                                                                                  22.01.19 17:28

                                                              ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019     5
Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
Market information

World Steel Tube Production – Forecast
In the first quarter of 2019 the World Steel Tube Pro-                 a negative result in the seamless tubes market, and
duction reaches 43,6 million tons, an increase of 0.7 %.               a minus of 26.5 % in total productions. Chinese
The production of seamless tubes increased 1.2 %                       steel tube producers achieved a production of
to 11 Mio to, significant is the increase in India                     24 million metric tons, a plus of 1.6 %, the USA with
with 20 %. Germany reached with a loss of -10.1 %                      a production of 3 million tons an increase of 9.5 %.

                                                          Total in Tto.
                                        1. Quarter 2019                                1. Quarter 2018
50000

37500

25000

12500

      0
            Germany         EU             USA          Japan          GUS        India          China           Other          World
   15
  7,5
    0
 -7,5
  -15
-22,5
  -30

                seamless tubes          welded tubes 406                welded tubes                  TOTAL
Region/       1. Qtr 1. Qtr      1. Qtr 1. Qtr      1. Qtr 1. Qtr      1. Qtr 21. Qtr      1. Qtr 1. Qtr
                            in %               in %               in %                in %               in %
country       2019 2018		2019 2018		2019 2018		 2019 2018		2019 2018
Germany        295    328     -10.1      218     228      -4.4   100     278   -64.0    318     506      -37.2    613     834    -26.5

EU             985    1,038      -5.1   2,173 2,127       2.2    224     429   -47.8 2,397 2.556         -6.2    3,382   3.594    -5.9

USA            581    557        4.3    2,050 1,987       3.2    468     285   64.2    2,518 2,272       10.8    3,099   2,829    9.5

Japan          351    346        1.4     894     863      3.6    315     342   -7.9    1,209 1,205       0.3     1,560   1,551    0.6

GUS           1,170 1,187        -1.4   1,352 1,408       -4.0   638     860   -25.8 1,990 2,268 -12.3 3,160             3,455    -8.5

India          150    125        20.0    400     400      0.0    500     500   0.0      900     900      0.0     1,050   1,025    2.4

China         7,000 6,875        1.8    15,000 14,750     1.7    2,000 2,000   0.0     17,000 16,750     1.5     24,000 23,625 1.6

Other          777    752        3.3    5,447 5,338       2.0    1,173 1,158   1.3     6,620 6,496       1.9     7,397   7,248    2.1

World         11,014 10,880      1.2    27,316 26,873     1.6    5,318 5,574   -4.6    32,634 32,447     0.6     43,648 43,327 0.7
Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V. 										figures include estimations

  6       ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
Market information

                Seamless tubes in Tto.                                  Welded tubes 406 in Tto.                                       Welded tubes in Tto.
             1. Quarter 2019        2. Quarter 2018                       1. Quarter 2019          1. Quarter 2018
6000                                                         40000

4500                                                         30000

3000                                                         20000

1500                                                         10000

   0                                                             0
        Germany EU   USA Japan GUS India China Other World           Germany EU   USA Japan GUS India China Other World
 70,0                                                           20
 35,0                                                           10
                                                                 0
  0,0                                                          -10
-35,0                                                          -20
                                                               -30
-70,0                                                          -40

                                                                                  ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   7
Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
Market information

Dr. Gunther Voswinckel, VOSCO GmbH

World Pipe & Tube Market: Current factors
influencing the present situation
Dr. Gunther Voswinckel – Update as per September 2019
In this article, in a consecutive way, several eco-       is reported for the USA, supported by political trade
nomic consequences for the tube and pipe industry         barriers for tubular products and the strong growth
are discussed.                                            of the shale gas exploration.
It must be realized by analysts that forecasts on the     For welded tubes and pipes below 406 mm diameter,
oil price level may heavily be overruled by political     a production increase of +1 % in 1st quarter 2019
interventions of the stake holders. Strategical meas-     was registered. For welded tubes and pipes of 406
ures consequently are quite demanding. Lean and           mm or larger 1st quarter 2019 production showed a
agile organizations with flexible and customer ori-       total decrease of -1 %. But USA (+40 %) showed a
entated production facilities are adequate to prompt      remarkable production increase. For seamless tubes
the demanding market requirements. Agile digital          and pipes 1st quarter 2019 has seen production
solutions in the sense of “Industry 4.0” offer further    growth by +1 %. The USA after another booming
opportunities to stay successful.                         year 2018 (+17 %) now reports a reduction of -4 %.
The presented figures show, especially US tube and        India with its smaller production capacity reported
pipe producers took great advantage from the busi-        an increase of +20 %!
ness trends on the oil and gas market. Particularly the   This is a remarkable trend, since now for the third
increased pumping and exploration activities in the       time for years, the US tube and pipe production is
US are driving forces. If we believe the US experts,      showing remarkable growth. It seems that the US
this will remain even throughout the year 2019. To a      trade barriers policy is showing its significant results.
smaller degree in 1st quarter 2019 also Chinese tube      The pipe prices after an increase of 23 % in 2018 are
and pipe producers participated in this positive trend.   now declining by 7 % in 1st quarter 2019. Still the
Other tube and pipe markets such as the automo-           overall plant utilization is on a low level.
tive (15 %), mechanical engineering (9 %), building       Demanding high-tech products are the strategic
and construction industry (5 %) are also attractive       targets rather than commodity-grade tubes and
market segments for our industry. Despite actual          pipes. Limiting factors are sometimes the availabil-
turbulences, the world automotive market has been         ity of steel quality for strip, plate and billets as well
characterized by a stable growth. The proportion of       as the tube plant infrastructure regarding machines
tubes and pipes built into cars at the same time is       and the applied quality standards.
steadily growing, causing increased attractiveness of
                                                          Finally, the impact of currency exchange rates on the
this market segment.
                                                          tube and pipe market is discussed. The strong EURO
The mechanical engineering market with its                during 2017 and early 2018 was causing export dis-
uncounted applications represents many interesting        advantages. Since then the Euro is weakening again,
growing segments, such as hydraulic cylinder tubes        being able to compensate some of the disadvan-
or ball bearing tubes.                                    tages. Anyhow the trade conflict between the US and
The building and construction industry market is          China is creating an atmosphere with great danger
even growing by about 4 %/year. Here we can see           for a global economic recession.
a competition between steel/tube structures and           The main and dominant market segment of the steel
concrete elements. Lobbying activities are required,      tube and pipe suppliers is the OCTG industry with 51 %
especially to further enlarge the steel/tube penetra-     market share. Besides this dominating market the
tion for skyscrapers and bridges.                         automotive (15 %), mechanical engineering (9 %)
World production of steel tubes and pipes in 1st          and construction industry (5 %) are also strong
quarter 2019 showed a new record height of extrap-        market segments for the steel tube and pipe suppli-
olated 174.600 tons/year. In detail a growth of +4 %      ers (Figure 1).

  8    ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
Market information

OCTG, oil and gas, as the largest
target market of steel tube and
pipe suppliers. This market is
subdivided in pipes used for oil
and gas rigs, such as drill pipes,
joints, tubing and casings and
further downstream the line pipes
to transport oil and gas.
The number of new oil and gas
rigs is heavily depending on the
oil price. There is a strong correla-
tion between the oil price and the
number of oil and gas rigs in oper-
ation (see also ITA tube Journal
2019/1). The OCTG tube and pipe
consumption is depending on
the number of rigs, but also the        Figure 1: Markets for Steel Tube and Pipes
depth of drilling and the capacity      Source: ITATube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohr
of the rigs. After a long period of
raising oil prices from early 2016
(30 US$/barrel) to October 2018
(85 US$/barrel), the oil price
fell again down to 52 US$/barrel
in only 2 months, to recover to
about 72 US$/barrel until April
2019. Since April the oil price fell
down to 58 US$/barrel (Figure 2).
The volatility of this price is quite
impressive and a consequence of
nervous reactions to the political
measures taken.
Under normal circumstances the
world would face an oversupply
of oil (see also ITA tube Journal
2019/2), but on the contrary
hereto, due the political interven-
tions by the US government, the
sanctions imposed on Iran and
Venezuela oil exports, created an
artificial mood of oil supply short-
age creating the recent oil price
                                        Figure 2: Oil Price Development 2014 until 2019
rally throughout 2018. At the           Source: Nasdaq
end of 2018 the price sharply fell
again to about 52 US$/barrel. In        to calm down a bit, the oil price       tions, it is increasingly demanding
2019 the oil price strengthened         fell to 58 US$/barrel. It is to         to give reliable forecasts for the
again which may be caused by            be observed what next political         consumption of steel tubes and
the upcoming thread of a political      interventions are on Mr. Trumps         pipes for this important market
conflict with Iraq and the ongoing      agenda.                                 segment. Only agile management
conflict with Iran (Figure 3). Now,     Since the oil price is heavily          strategies can counter such chal-
since the political conflicts seem      depending on political interven-        lenges.

                                                                              ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   9
Journal Magazine of the Sole Worldwide Acting Association of Tube & Pipe Engineers - International Tube Association
Market information

                                                The second OCTG market is rep-           pipe prices increased, reflected
                                                resented by oil and gas pipe-            by the tube and pipe price index
                                                lines. The pipeline market is a          raising by ab. 23 % from 288 to
                                                project-based business with long         365 in August 2018. Since then
                                                planning periods and high politi-        the tube and pipe producer index
                                                cal determinations. Such projects        weakened again to 340 as of Sep-
                                                are planned e.g. in Europe, USA          tember 2019 (Figure 4).
                                                and Asia. In Europe gas pipelines        Anyhow it must be considered
                                                are mainly built to serve gas from       that most tube and pipe produc-
                                                gas and oil fields in Russia.            ers are facing relatively low plant
                                                All these projects are intensively       utilisation at levels of about 62 %
                                                discussed on political and environ-      for welded tubes and pipes smaller
                                                mental platforms. The European           16-inch diameter as well as seam-
Figure 3: Oil Price development in 2019         project “Nord Stream 2” is a good        less tubes and pipes. For welded
Source: Nasda                                   example, since the US president          pipes larger 16-inch diameter the
                                                Mr. Trump and the Polish govern-         utilisation is even lower on a level
                                                ment are using all their influence       of about 35 %. Here we certainly
                                                to ban this project. The US gov-         find regional variations, but the
                                                ernment is even trying to thread         overall utilisation is still quite
                                                the involved international com-          alarming.
                                                panies with trade sanctions (see         The US economy is already
                                                also ITA tube Journal 2019/2).           growing for an impressive time
                                                Therefore, also this market can be       span of about 10 years. When
                                                considered as difficult in regards       Mr. Trump became US president,
                                                of reliable forecasts.                   in January 2017, he has taken
                                                Since January 2018 the tube and          numerous political measures

            Figure 4: Producer Price Index. Source: FRED US Bureau of Labor Statistics

      10     ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Market information

covered by his doctrine “America
First” to strengthen also the tra-
ditional businesses such as steel,
automotive and electrics. This
can impressively be displayed by
the US tube and pipe production
figures (Figure 5). Due to trade
sanctions and the support of the
local oil and gas industry, the US
tube and pipe industry is quite
strengthening.
The US tube and pipe production
has increased by 4.600 ktons
(+60 %) since 2016, causing new          Figure 5: US Tube and Pipe Production 2016 – 2018 (ktons)
investments in the tube and pipe         Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschafts­vereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
industry and even tube plants
which were previously taken out
of operation were restarted for
production. This trend may only
be sustainable if the US based
tube and pipe producers use this
positive trend and invest in pro-
ductivity and product quality oth-
erwise this positive trend may end
if the trade barriers will fall again.
Anyway, still today some 7.000
ktons of steel tubes and pipes are
imported to the US, which is in
average still a high volume.
                                         Figure 6: Steel Tube Structures at Airport Building
On the other hand, Europe and
                                         Source: Zekelman Ind. Atlas Tube
other regions also impose trade
barriers to secure the national          to even increase their share in car       are consolidating at almost “zero”
industry against imports from            production.                               growth. The automotive market,
other parts of the world. There-         The present trend to electro-mo-          due to its technological require-
fore, the tube and pipe market           bility may have a negative impact         ments is quite interesting for tube
does need to cope with various           on pipe supplies utilized for com-        and pipe producers as well as tube
political interventions which            bustion engines. Still alternative        and pipe processors.
sometimes challenges strategical         drive systems represent a minor           The market of mechanical engi-
management measures.                     percentage, but the further devel-        neering for tubes and pipes, rep-
The second important market              opment shall be observed.                 resenting 9 % of the total tube
with a market share of 15 % is           As already displayed in the               and pipe market, is quite diversi-
the automotive market. Tubes and         2019/1 edition of the ITA Tube            fied due to its uncounted appli-
pipes with a diameter up to 90           Journal, the regional sales figures       cations. ITA tube Journal 2019/1
mm are mainly applied.                   are quite inhomogeneous. Coun-            highlighted the fast-growing
                                         tries like Russia (+15 %), Brazil         hydraulic cylinder tube market.
Despite some weakness in 2018
and 2019, this market is charac-         (+13 %) and India (+7 %) show             In the ITA tube Journal 2019/2
terized by a relative stable and         further growth, whereas Japan             I highlighted the ball bearing
high demand of +2 %. Due to the          overcompensates these growth              market.
ongoing weight saving require-           figures and shows a decline of            Both examples of the mechanical
ment for cars, it can be expected,       (-11 %). The largest world car            engineering market demonstrat-
that tubes and pipes may be able         markets, China, USA and Europe            ing the interesting potentials of

                                                                                ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   11
Market information

                                                                               for buildings with seismic require-
                                                                               ments and/or dynamic loads as
                                                                               applied to bridges.
                                                                               As an example, the 4th longest
                                                                               bridge in the world, the Izmit bay
                                                                               crossing bridge, is made of steel
                                                                               and pipe structures.
                                                                               Both mayor segments of the con-
                                                                               struction market, anyhow require
                                                                               mayor lobbying efforts of the
                                                                               tube and pipe producing indus-
                                                                               try to further convince regula-
                                                                               tion authorities and project stake
                                                                               holders about the advantages
                                                                               of steel/tube structures as cost
                                                                               effective, aesthetic and sustain-
                                                                               able alternatives to concrete ele-
                                                                               ments.
Figure 7: World Steel Tube and Pipe Production (ktons)                         One of the major players in the
Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.                supply of tubes and pipes for the
                                                                               growing construction market, the
                                                                               US based Zekelman Industries, has
                                                                               only recently decided to invest in
                                                                               a new 30” continuous ERW pipe
                                                                               mill. This green field plant will be
                                                                               installed in Blytheville Arkansas/
                                                                               US, alongside to their existing
                                                                               Atlas Tube facilities. This plant is
                                                                               scheduled to start up in Septem-
                                                                               ber 2021.
                                                                               All these steel tube and pipe
                                                                               markets can be subdivided in com-
                                                                               modity volume and the part with
                                                                               high-tech requirements. For the
                                                                               high-tech requirements, the deci-
Figure 8: Reginal World Steel Tube and Pipe Production Total (ktons)           sive factors are the steel quality
Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.                and the tube plant infrastructure.
                                                                               The steel quality for many high-
this diversified market segment            in the construction market are
                                                                               tech steel tube and pipe appli-
for tubes and pipes.                       buildings as e.g. skyscrapers,
                                                                               cations is demanding regarding
Another attractive market for              bridges and load bearing applica-
                                                                               chemistry and homogeneity. The
tube and pipe producers is the             tions (Figure 6). Here we find a
                                                                               availability of such steel qualities
construction market, representing          significant competition between
                                                                               with the relevant uniformity for
about 5 % of the world tube pro-           steel/tube structures and on the
                                                                               welded tubes and pipes as steel
duction. The construction market           other side concrete elements. For
                                                                               strip and plates as well as billets
is steadily growing along with             skyscrapers the trend in emerg-
                                                                               for seamless tubes and pipes is
the GDP growth, as already dis-            ing countries to build high-rise
                                                                               limited and creates sometimes a
cussed in the ITA Tube Journal in          towers is supporting the applica-
                                                                               significant hurdle to supply tubes
October 2018. The mayor market             tion of steel/tube structures. An
                                                                               and pipes into such high-tech
applications for tubes and pipes           outstanding advantage of steel/
                                                                               markets. On the other hand, the
                                           tube structures are applications

 12     ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Market information

tube plant infrastructure regard-
ing tube mills, finishing lines as
well as applied quality assurance
has also a significant importance.
Growing importance can be seen
in agile management strate-
gies regarding customer benefit,
process and product quality
enhancement by applying “Indus-
try 4.0” measures. First interest-
ing applications of “Industry 4.0”
in the tube and pipe industry were
presented by various speakers at
the ITA tube conference in Düssel-
dorf this April 2019.
Taking the above-mentioned
market trends, it is remarkable
how they show their marks in the
world steel tube and pipe produc-
                                     Figure 9: World Steel Tube and Pipe Production Seamless (ktons)
tion.                                Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
The steel tube and pipe production
was steadily growing until 2015
to a value of more than 171.000
tons/year (Figure 7). The down-
turn in 2016 to 167.000 tons/year
was mainly reflected in the USA,
CIS and ROW. In 2017 the market
turned around again but China as
the main tube and pipe producer
lost about 6.000 tons/a while all
other countries, especially the
US, increased their production to
overcompensate Chinas reduced
production. In the 1st quarter       Figure 10: Regional Steel Tube and Pipe Production Seamless (ktons)
of 2019 the world tube and pipe      Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
production reached a new record
height of extrapolated 174.600       ROW (+3 %). CIS (-6 %) and EU 27         tion cutbacks in the past years
tons/year.                           (-3 %) had reductions. All other         the industry has, for the first time
Figure 8 shows the break down        regions/countries had almost no          in 1st quarter 2019, a production
for the relevant regions in more     changes compared to 2018.                level close to that of 2012!
detail. Especially the USA driven    The most volatile market segment         The present growth in 1st quarter
by the trade policy offensive of     is that of the seamless tubes and        2019 is dominated by the large
Mr. Trump took great advantage       pipes (Figure 9). This product. Only     volume in China (+2 %), India (+20
and gained about 4.600 tons/year     in the years from 2014 to 2016 the       %), ROW (+4 %) and Japan (+2 %).
(+60 %) of production since 2016.    world production was reduced by          On the other hand, CIS (-2 %)
In 1st quarter 2019, the world       about 10.000 tons (-20 %). Since         and USA (-4 %) had shrinking pro-
steel tube and pipe production       then, the production has had a           duction figures (Figure 10).
was growing again being dom-         moderate recovery. The worldwide         The worldwide production of
inated by a further recovery of      production volume increased by 4         welded pipes < 406 mm OD
China (+2 %), the USA (+4 %) and     % in 2018. After severe produc-          (Figure 12) is showing a moder-

                                                                            ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   13
Market information

                                                                                the capability of relevant pipe pro-
                                                                                ducers to qualify for such pipeline
                                                                                projects. The average world pipe
                                                                                producing plant utilization is on a
                                                                                very low level of only about 30 %.
                                                                                The world production is shrinking
                                                                                since 2017 (-7 %), with (-1 %)
                                                                                in 2019 1st quarter. To protect
                                                                                the local producers, the present
                                                                                US government has only recently
                                                                                started to put import duties on
                                                                                line pipe imports to protect US
                                                                                line pipe producers.
                                                                                The production of welded pipes ≥
                                                                                406 mm OD is with about 22.000
                                                                                tons/year (+/-5 %) by far the small-
                                                                                est product segment (Figure 13).
                                                                                It is mainly applied at large diam-
Figure 11: World Steel Tube and Pipe Production Welded < 406 mm (ktons)         eter line pipe projects. As already
Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
                                                                                stated earlier such projects often
                                                                                depend on powerful stake holders’
                                                                                interventions and the capabil-
                                                                                ity of relevant pipe producers to
                                                                                qualify for such pipeline projects.
                                                                                The average world pipe produc-
                                                                                ing plant utilization is on a very
                                                                                low level of only about 30 %.
                                                                                The world production is shrinking
                                                                                since 2017 (-7 %), with (-1 %)
                                                                                in 2019 1st quarter. To protect
                                                                                the local producers, the present
                                                                                US government has only recently
                                                                                started to put import duties on
                                                                                line pipe imports to protect US
                                                                                line pipe producers.
                                                                                This political signal seems to show
Figure 12: Regional Steel Tube and Pipe Production Welded < 406 mm (ktons)      the desired effect on the US pipe
Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.                 production! The 1st quarter 2019
                                                                                production numbers (Figure 14)
ate increase in 1st quarter 2019          to capitalize also from the various   reflect this again impressively.
(+1%). This large volume segment          market segment prospects as dis-      Only the US tube and pipe produc-
is steadily growing. But the              cussed before in this publication.    ers have enlarged their production
regional breakdown also shows             The production of welded pipes ≥      by +40 %. All other countries/
more variations: China (+2%),             406 mm OD is with about 22.000        regions reduced their production
EU (+4%) Japan (+3%) and ROW              tons/year (+/- 5 %) by far the        with the most significant reduc-
(+3%) are reporting an increase.          smallest product segment (Figure      tion in EU 27 (-42 %). Japan (-5 %)
CIS (-10%) is outbalancing these          13). It is mainly applied at large    and CIS (-4 %) have more moder-
production figures.                       diameter line pipe projects. As       ate production declines.
Many growing markets can be               already stated earlier such pro-      This trend reflects the decreased
served by these tubes and pipe            jects often depend on powerful        demand for pipelines in these
dimensions, allowing producers            stake holders’ interventions and      regions and political measures.

 14    ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Market information

Even some of the technologi-
cally advanced producers of large
diameter line pipes are suffering,
despite unique selling points.
In the entire scenario, the cur-
rency exchange rates have also
a notable impact on the inter-
national tube and pipe produc-
tion as well as equipment trading
throughout the world.
In 2017 the EURO has gained
about + 20 % against the US Dollar
(Figure 15). Then in 2018 since
April 2018 the Euro weakened until
October 2018 again by about –10
% to 1.13. This does release pres-
sure on exports into the US. Since
early 2019 the exchange rate EURO      Figure 13: World Steel Tube and Pipe Production Welded > 406 mm (ktons)
to US Dollar stabilized at a rate of   Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
1.12. It is to be expected how and
if the Brexit confusion will take
influence within this year. The
election for the European parlia-
ment did not really had a remarka-
ble impact, since no major changes
were imposed.
The Exchange rate EURO to
Chinese Yuan was much more vol-
atile (+/- 9 %) than the of the
EURO to the US$. The US Dollar
and the EURO gained about 21 %
in 2017. 2018 the EURO lost twice
as much against the Yuan (-22 %)
compared to the loss against the
US Dollar in the same time. The
trade conflict between the US and
China is creating nervous reactions
and it has to be observed to what
                                       Figure 14: Regional Steel Tube and Pipe Production > 406 mm (ktons)
extent the conflict gets reflected
                                       Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
in the relevant exchange rates.
In any case it is undoubted, that      The world increasing tube and          markets with increased demand
the exchange rates of these lead       pipe demand is leading to region-      remains one of the key answers.
currencies do impact the inter-        ally improved plant utilization in     Middle East and locations with
national trade and challenge our       the steel tube and pipe industry.      major oil and gas exploration as
industry as well.                      Some pipe producing companies          well as automotive production,
What measures are pipe producers       in the USA even reactivated obso-      mechanical engineering and
and pipe production equipment          lete production facilities with a      building construction are to be
suppliers taking to conquer the        questionable economic future.          considered. Besides this, shale
present situation and to generate      Still, despite the remarkable boom     gas exploration, deep-sea offshore
sustainable business?                  in the USA, globalization into         exploration and oil sand explora-

                                                                            ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   15
Market information

Figure 20: Regional Steel Tube and Pipe Production > 406 mm (ktons)
Source: ITA tube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.

tion remain major challenges to           VOSCO Management Consultancy
our industry.                             GmbH
Tube and pipe producers must              Dr. Gunther Voswinckel
carefully investigate how to              Leading by Experience – Our aim
reduce fix costs, e.g. lean organ-        is the lasting enhancement of the
izations, with small overheads,           value of your company
and how to improve flexibility,
                                           	Board- and Advisory Board
agility and customer orientation.
                                             Mandates
New information technologies,
                                           	Advisory Services for Invest-
such as “Industry 4.0” or also
                                             ment Projects
called “Internet of Things”, can
provide interesting opportunities          	Inquiry Specifications, Eval-
to establish sustainable future              uation of Proposals, Project
business. Such agile optimization            Management                       VOSCO Management
processes may even open new                	Due Diligence and Audits         Consultancy
windows to deal with the fast-var-         	Acquisitions, Company            Dr. Gunther Voswinckel
ying demands tube and pipe pro-              Appraisals and Strategic Plan-   Scharnhorststrasse 45
ducers are facing.                           ning                             41063 Mönchengladbach
Plant builders as technology sup-          	Management Consulting            Germany
pliers may find interesting busi-          	Globalization, Profitability,    Tel.:   +49 2161 309 255
ness opportunities in this new               Strategy, Investor Relation      Fax:    +49 2161 912 520
market segment. Some technology
                                           	Participation as Investor in     contact@vosco.net
suppliers have already reacted and
                                             Companies                        www.vosco.net
complimented their product port-
folio by digital solutions.

 16    ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
join the best: worldwide
                                         www.tube.de
                                                                     Tube & Pipe Producers
                                                                     and Suppliers Pavilion

International Tube and Pipe Trade Fair                 Internationale Rohr-Fachmesse
Technical Papers

    SMS group GmbH

    Wafer-thin layers and a great future –
    Additive Manufacturing at SMS group
                                                The breakthrough of 3D printing for home use, predicted in 2010, is yet
                                                to come. Nevertheless, the revolution is taking place - not as predicted
                                                at the homes, but in industry. And it is happening with breathtaking
                                                speed. More and more sectors of industry have been recognizing and
                                                making use of the advantages of 3D printing and Additive Manufactur-
                                                ing, last but not least the plant and mechanical engineering industry.
                                                For many years, SMS group has been very active in the field of Additive
                                                Manufacturing. A young and dedicated research and development team
                                                is advancing and promoting this innovative technology within the
                                                company. The team members do not limit their activities to investigat-
                                                ing which new and optimized components could possibly be produced
                                                by Additive Manufacturing (AM). They rather dedicate a great deal of
                                                their activities to introducing a new way of thinking in the design and
                                                engineering departments.
                                                Agile project team for the promotion of Additive Manufacturing
                                                Norbert Gober, initiator of SMS group’s AM team: “The AM project team
                                                has been given a lot of freedom and lean structures to allow us to test
                                                out new approaches, take a critical look at traditional methods and be
                                                able to act flexibly and agilely. Since shortly, we have an own powder
                                                bed 3D printer for metal printing, which has been provided by our
                                                cooperation partner Additive Industries. With this printer, we will in
                                                future be able to implement new concepts right here, in-house.”
                                                The full range of AM technologies at a glance
                                                As a manufacturer of plants and machinery for the steel and NF-met-
                                                als industry, SMS group focuses on components made of metallic
                                                materials because the machines and equipment will be subjected to
                                                                                  extremely high loads during oper-
                                                                                  ation. The performance potential
                                                                                  of the materials are investigated
                                                                                  and tested under field conditions.
                                                                                  Besides metals, also alternative
                                                                                  materials, such as plastics and
                                                                                  ceramics, are examined. Additive
                                                                                  Manufacturing means producing
                                                                                  an object based on digital 3D
                                                                                  design data by adding material
                                                                                  layer by layer.
                                                                                      The number of available AM tech-
                                                                                      niques is great. However, for the
                                                                                      time being two main techniques
                                                                                      are commonly used for plant and
                                                                                      heavy machinery applications:
Additively manufactured roll cooling header     selective laser melting in a powder bed and the laser melting deposi-
                                                tion process. In selective laser melting, layer by layer of a high-purity

      18     ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Technical Papers

homogeneous metal powder is selectively, i.e. at defined positions,
melted by a laser. In this way, the component is gradually built up.
With the powder bed technique it is possible to produce components
of complex and unprecedented structures, which would not be feasible
by conventional processes.
In laser metal deposition, metallic powder or wire is fed via nozzles
and melted by lasers at defined spots. The unit that accommodates the
laser and the nozzle may be actuated by a robot. Laser metal deposition
achieves high build-up rates, but it is limited in terms of fineness. For
plastics-based components, the selective laser sintering (SLS) process
is available. This technique is very similar to the powder bed process
using metals, the only basic difference being that it uses a special
                                                                              Conventionally and additively
powder of plastics material melted by a laser.                                manufactured roll cooling headers
New way of thinking required
Robert Banse, member of the AM R&D Project Team of SMS group: “We
adopt an entirely new approach to component designing. We are in no
way restricted by any manufacturing constraints. We do not have to
consider the geometry of the input stock, e.g. a forging blank, or the
specific requirements posed by machining processes such as milling or
drilling. Therefore we can start out from the function the component
is going to perform. We adopt a creative technological approach to
designing. In other words: We develop the perfect shape for the func-
tion at hand ready to be produced in the 3D powder bed printer. We
have stopped thinking in terms of rectangular bores because in AM
flow-optimized channels have become the most natural thing in the
world.“
Innovative spray heads for forging plants
The advantages of Additive Manufacturing can be illustrated by way
of the example of a spray head for cooling the dies in a forging press.
Sarah Hornickel, who is also a member of the project team, explains:
“The original spray head was a solid and heavy part. We redesigned
the part in close cooperation with the responsible technical depart-
ment and our simulation specialists. Additive Manufacturing allows us
to design flow-optimized channels, do away with any superfluous and
heavy material and arrange the spray nozzles in such a way that the
most intensive cooling takes place exactly where the highest temper-
atures occur in the die. With the thus produced lighter-weight and
individualized component, die cooling takes less time and becomes
more efficient – two aspects which will improve the productivity of our
customers’ operations.”
Development within a strong network
Sarah Hornickel, Nina Uppenkamp and Robert Banse form the core AM
team. They work with other supporters of AM and the various SMS
group departments. Robert Banse: “I completed an apprenticeship and
a dual study program at SMS group. During my studies, I specialized in
Additive Manufacturing, a topic that fascinates me also outside my job.
Within the SMS group community, we are very well networked and we
have established a dedicated service network. These networks are just
as important for the kick-off of new projects as technological know-
how.“

                                                                            ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   19
Technical Papers

                                               The mission: Informing and inspiring colleagues
                                               A further task of the project team is to communicate the know-how,
                                               and the potential and benefits of AM within the group. Sarah Hor-
                                               nickel: “We organize design workshop, also for external companies, are
                                               in direct contact with the design departments and do not miss out on
                                               any opportunity to share information about Additive Manufacturing
                                               with our colleagues so that they can see the great potential it provides.
                                               Only colleagues who are convinced about Additive Manufacturing will
                                               make consistent use of the advantages of AM in their daily work. We
                                               have tried out new forms of spreading the word: We organize informa-
                                               tion rounds with our colleagues and have set up information booths at
                                               the canteens at the SMS group locations in Germany. Our booth was a
                                               great success, with large groups of people stopping by to get first-hand
                                               information about this fascinating new technology.” Nina Uppenkamp
                                               adds: “It is important to demonstrate – both within and outside the
                                               company – that SMS group generates added value for its customers
                                               by making active use of this future-oriented technology. This is why
                                               we work closely and as a trusted partner with our design departments
                                               and with our customers. The plant operators are very interested in
                                               additively manufactured components and the potential they provide to
                                               optimize their production processes.
                                               Less weight, higher speed and integrated functions
                                               The project team has already implemented a great number of innova-
                                               tive solutions, which impressively demonstrate what advantages Addi-
                                               tive Manufacturing processes provide. Their most important benefits
                                               include: significant weight reduction of dynamically actuated com-
                                               ponents, functional features are directly manufactured into the part
                                               during the 3D printing process, improvement of energy efficiency as a
                                               result of optimized flow patterns and minimized weight, dramatically
                                               shortened delivery periods and the possibility to produce virtually any-
                                               where in the world.
                                               Nina Uppenkamp describes a project which has benefited from the full
                                               range of advantages provided by Additive Manufacturing: “In a copper
Installation of the nozzle at BIRLA COPPER     wire rod mill, annular gap nozzles are used for wire cooling and water
                                                                                  removal. The conventional compo-
                                                                                  nent consisted of several parts and
                                                                                  the air gap adjustment required
                                                                                  the use of a shim. Setting up and
                                                                                  properly adjusting the component
                                                                                  involved a great effort by our cus-
                                                                                  tomer. Our task was twofold: First,
                                                                                  the component design was to be
                                                                                  simplified and, second, the adjust-
                                                                                  ment was to be accomplishable
                                                                                  without the aid of a shim. We pro-
                                                                                  duced a nozzle by AM which requires
                                                                                  only 35 millimeters of installation
                                                                                  space – versus the previous 65 mil-
                                                                                  limeters, weighs only 0.85 instead
                     Individual nozzles                                           of 2.5 kilograms and is of mono-

      20    ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Technical Papers

lithic design. The nozzle no longer consists of six parts.
It is now one piece which does not require preassembly
or adjustment of the nozzle prior to its installation in
the plant. The new nozzles are already successfully in
operation at BIRLA COPPER in India. They are less noisy
than the previous ones and meet or even exceed all per-
formance specifications. As we have manufactured the
nozzles from a high-strength, wear-resistant material,
they can remain in service much longer than their pre-
decessors.“
Applications along the process chain from the
meltshop to the rolling mill
Also the other projects implemented so far have provided
extremely promising results: A new roll cooling header for wire rod mills      Section through a SIS injector
featuring a contour-adapted design with integrated nozzles has been
performing excellently. By using Alumide, a blend of aluminum powder
and polyamide powder, we have made the new component lighter and
cheaper than the conventional solution. An example from BOF steel-
making: We have been able to reduce the size of our SIS injectors used
in steel melting by 60 percent. The injectors now come in one piece. In
the past they consisted of eight individual parts. Tube welding plants
made by SMS group will in future be able to produce tubes with diame-
ters down to 14 inches or even less. Thanks to a hybrid design includ-
ing additive and conventional manufacturing, the oil rings for the
expanders can be made smaller – without compromising their perfor-
mance capacity. And the Technical Service of SMS group benefits from
the lower weight and dramatically reduced delivery times of connecting
frames for feeding systems in extrusion plants.
A development characterized by dramatic dynamism
The projects mentioned above show where Additive Manufacturing is              Hybrid design of the oil ring
heading. Norbert Gober strongly believes that the development will
still pick up momentum in the near future: “There are several driving
forces. At the universities, future design engineers can nowadays avail
themselves of printers to print the parts they design and immedi-
ately examine the result in the form of a real component. The growing
demand for AM components will in turn spur the development in printer
technology. We see several new printer technologies pop up every year.
Maybe, another energy source will soon appear on the scene in addition
to the laser. The young people coming from the universities will bring
with them new ideas, concepts and methods that will change atti-
tudes and strategies in the companies. Nothing is backwards oriented,          SMS group GmbH
everything is moving forward at full vigor. I believe that conventional        Ohlerkirchweg 66
manufacturing will become increasingly open to this trend and that             41069 Mönchengladbach
there will be many more links between the two manufacturing methods.           Germany
First hybrid machines combining LMD and milling are already available          Tel.: +49 2161 350 0
on the market. I am pleased to see that SMS group has already made
                                                                               Fax: +49 2161 350 1667
great achievements in this challenging technological field and that it
is well positioned for the future.“                                            communications@sms-group.
                                                                               com
Technology Press Day: May 8, 2018, SMS group GmbH. Nina Uppen-                 www.sms-group.com
kamp, Robert Banse, Sarah Hornickel - Manager Additive Manufacturing

                                                                            ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019    21
Member News

Atomat SpA

Atomat celebrates 50 years of prominent
and successful activity

Because of the untimely demise -           tions, featuring Santa Claus and       the strong determination to keep
last April - of the founder of the         his elves, were performed at each      on bringing home even higher and
company, Mr. Oreste De Sabbata,            stage of the visit.                    more important accolades in the
Atomat decided to postpone the                                                    years to come.
                                           Immediately afterwards, all the
celebration of the 50th Anniversary
                                           guests were treated with a lavish
of its incorporation until shortly
                                           brunch buffet put together by a
before Christmas (December 22),
                                           renowned regional starred-chef.
with an “open day” gathering
reserved to all its employees, their       In the meantime our Managing
respective families and a selected         Director, Mr. Fabio Martecchini,
group of local authorities.                offered a historical overview of
                                           Atomat, from its beginnings to
The program started with a short                                                   Atomat SpA
                                           the present, followed by an infor-
tour of the industrial premises and
                                           mal awarding ceremony to senior         Strada di Oselin 16 int. 17
a brief illustration of the activities
                                           employees.                              33047 Remanzacco (Udine)
performed in each of the offices
                                           The festivities ended mid after-        ITALY
and workshops.
                                           noon and the lingering percep-          +39 0432 648511
Particular care and effort was com-
                                           tion was that everyone who took         Fax +39 0432 667101
mitted to keep amused and busy
                                           part left the venue with a sense of
the numerous small attendees                                                       info@atomat.com
                                           pride for the results and the inter-
to the event: a series of funny                                                    www. atomat.com
                                           national stance attained by the
Christmas theatrical representa-
                                           company since 1968, along with

 22     ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Member News

Bossi S.r.l. - Macchine Finitura Metalli

Flat Grinding Machine RSP 150/2500/8UR-150
10.000 kgs. of ruggedness and quality

We have recently delivered a new       The high number of units allows
                                                                               Bossi S.r.l. -
flat grinding machine with 8 belt      to obtain a very fine finishing in
                                                                               Macchine Finitura Metall
units to a leading Italian manufac-    a single pass with the purpose of
turer of high quality metal furnish-   preparing the workpieces for the        Via Dante 63
ing.                                   next chrome plating operation.          20081 Abbiategrasso (MI)
                                                                               Italy
For what concerns the mechanic it      The machine can also work very
is an extremely rugged machine,        small lengths (up to 200 mm)            Tel: +39029496 4141
equipped with state-of-the-art         without having to use magnetic          Fax: +39029466 265
electronic devices, meeting the        chucks.                                 commerciale@bossi-srl.it
requirements of Industry 4.0, that                                             www.bossi-srl.com
allow to receive very useful infor-
mation and data directly on the
company computer.

                                                                            ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   23
Member News

Bültmann GmbH

BÜLTMANN 10-roll tube straightening
machines also in the aluminium sector
further on the advance
                                                                               meet the growing demands in this
                                                                               area. As one of the last production
                                                                               steps before delivery, straighten-
                                                                               ing has a decisive influence on
                                                                               tube quality.
                                                                               Following the recent successful
                                                                               delivery of a 10-roll straighten-
                                                                               ing machine for aluminium tubes
                                                                               up to a diameter of 350 mm for
                                                                               a leading international alumin-
                                                                               ium producer, a new order for two
                                                                               straightening machines to cover
                                                                               the small diameter range of 4 –
                                                                               150 mm has now been placed by
                                                                               the same group of companies.
                                                                               The scope of supply includes the
                                                                               respective straightening machine,
                                                                               type RRM 10/032 and type RRM
                                                                               10/150, as well as the special
                                                                               inlet and outlet equipment. As
                                                                               always, the machines incl. elec-
                                                                               trical control are individually tai-
                                                                               lored to the high requirements of
                                                                               the customer.
                                                                               We are proud about the trust that
                                         The     permanently      increasing   our costumer has placed in us
                                         demand for aluminium products is      regarding also the production of
                                         also having a positive impact on      these very high-quality products.
                                         the BÜLTMANN tube straightening
                                         machine segment. Now that the         It would be a pleasure for us to
                                         peeling machine has been imple-       develop an individual solution for
                                         mented for processing aluminium       your application. Please contact
                                         bars, the continuous further devel-   us for further information!
                                         opment of BÜLTMANN machines            Bültmann GmbH
                                         especially for the aluminium
                                         industry is now also having an         Hoennestr 31
                                         effect in the tube straightening       58809 Neuenrade
                                         machine sector.                        Germany

                                         High-precision aluminium tubes,        Tel: +492394 18256
                                         which are used especially in the       Fax: +492394 18171
                                         aviation and aerospace industries,     he@bueltmann.com
                                         require appropriate processing to      www.bueltmann.com

 24   ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Member News

Danieli S.p.A.

Danieli DigiMelter: the revolutionary system
to melt steel, powered by Q-ONE
A new Q-One digital power
system in operation at ABS Sisak
The results of the Danieli Automa-
tion Q-One power system installed
at ABS Sisak meltshop for special
steel (Croatia), confirmed an
impressive increase of active power
availability and EAF efficiency.
Q-One technology provides the
most stable, low-disturbance
effect (flicker and power factor)
on the electrical power network         sumption and a 10% shorter pow-          current and a power factor con-
along with the most advanced,           er-on time.                              stantly above 0,96 were achieved.
dynamic, fast, electrode control        One of the targets of the upgrade        Q-One offers unmatched power
system reducing electrode con-          at ABS Sisak was to comply with          control and handling and does not
sumption through hi-performance         the narrower rules applied by the        require any SVC installation.
power unit.                             Croatian electrical energy supplier.
                                                                                 Danieli Digimelter is the revolu-
The upgrade of the 78-t melting         A very low network flicker due           tionary melting tool and will open
unit by Q-One at ABS Sisak, led to      to a quick control of voltage and        a new era in steelmaking.
20% reduction of electrode con-

Danieli Breda upgrade for special steel pipe
New order to revamp extru-
sion line runout for Centravis,
Ukraine
Centravis, the main supplier of
extruded specialty steel pipe to
the Ukrainian market, contracted
Danieli Breda to revamp the runout
system for its extrusion line, sup-
plied by a competitor in 2007.
The new runout concept, devel-
oped to improve the metallur-
gical quality of the pipes and to
reduce process inconsistency and        tools, have been custom-engi-            and improve its market leadership
plant availability, will be delivered   neered for highly demanding pipe         in special pipe applications.
during 2020.                            requirements and to meet the cus-
A new cooling system equipped           tomer’s expectations.
with double cooling stations, visual    The experience and know-how
inspection, and a tank bypass           offered by Danieli Breda will
system, plus scrap glass recovery       support Centravis to consolidate

                                                                               ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   25
Member News

Danieli S.p.A.

Fully automated slab handling for
inventory management
                                                                                  	Yard Storage optimization
                                                                                  	Crane movement optimization
                                                                                  	Multi-crane bay coordination
                                                                                  	
                                                                                   Crane downtime and mainte-
                                                                                   nance management
                                                                                  	Other functions for cranes-to-
                                                                                    transport-device handling also
                                                                                    are hosted.
                                                                                 Worker safety in the slab yard is
                                                                                 significantly improved, avoiding
                                                                                 hazards related to human pres-
                                                                                 ence, and isolating machine oper-
                                                                                 ations within fenced units.
                                                                                 The fully automatic solution is
Ternium Pesqueria hot-strip mill          mizing the movements and the
                                                                                 leading to an estimated 20% uti-
adopts advanced Danieli materi-           relocation of each slab; and thus
                                                                                 lization of the previously required
al-flow technology                        in real-time tuning the mission to
                                                                                 Ternium workforce in the yards,
                                          the actual needs determined by the
Ternium chose Danieli to supply an                                               maintaining human supervision
                                          product mix and equipment status.
inventory management system and                                                  only for the material arrival on
fully automatic handling equip-           Slabs are moved by autonomous          trains and furnace charging.
ment that will feed 4.1 Mtpy of           transfer cars from the arrival bays
                                                                                 Unmanned slab handling, inte-
slabs to a greenfield hot-strip mill      to the RHF charging bays.
                                                                                 grated and coordinated with
at Pesqueria, Mexico. The purpose         Slabs in the charging bay are          the main process line, leads to
is to optimize incoming slab flow         stored according to the RHF charg-     improved flexibility, continuous
by applying artificial intelligence       ing sequence, in order to optimize     optimization and predictability of
for the Slab Yard Management              the crane cycles during the loading    Ternium plant. This identifies this
System (SYMS), in direct connec-          phase, to reduce the loading cycle     solution as the new benchmark for
tion and communication with the           time and increase the flexibility in   the latest industrial revolution in
downstream process of the Hot-            case of any change in the produc-      the material management of an
Strip Mill.                               tion schedule.                         integrated plant.
A complete handling system -              Properly sequenced slabs are
including 10 EOT cranes, seven            stacked below two destackers,           Danieli S.p.A.
transfer cars and two destackers -        which continuously load slabs
will receive slabs from the mill and                                              Via Nazionale 41
                                          on a 50-m long roller table, and
to distribute and transfer these                                                  33042 Buttrio (UD)
                                          feed them directly into the HSM
products through the intermediate                                                 Italy
                                          furnace, according to the produc-
and final storage areas.                  tion mix and required schedule.         Tel: +390226245358
The Slab Yard Management System                                                   Fax: +390226245322
                                          The SYMS is installed on a central
(SYMS) calculates the task for all        server, and includes the main intel-    s.bettinelli@danieli.it
operating equipment according to          ligent functions for yard manage-       www.danieli.com
the forecast production mix sub-          ment, such as:
mitted by the Plant MES; opti-

 26    ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
Member News

Fives Bronx Ltd

Fives’ finishing equipment chosen for
high-quality seamless pipe production
A leading Russian tube producer
has chosen Fives to supply a range
of finishing equipment to process
seamless tubes.
Fives will design and supply:
Two Bronx 6-roll cold pipe straight-
eners
 	
  A Bronx 10-roll hot pipe
  straightener
 	Taylor-Wilson end facers
 	Two Taylor-Wilson double head
   hydrotesters
 	Two Taylor-Wilson double head
   drifters
The equipment will be designed
to process over 500,000 tons per
year of high-quality seamless
tubular products of 73 - 273mm
in diameter, mainly designated to
oil and gas applications according
to international API and Russian
GOST standards. The startup of
                                       Bronx straighteners are designed
production is scheduled for 2021.
                                       to sustain the loads associated
Seamless pipe must be resistant to     with the straightening of thick
the pressure and loads required for    and thin wall, welded or seamless
extraction of oils and gas resources   plain or upset tubes and pipes at
under extreme weather conditions.      high speeds, in either hot or cold
Bronx and Taylor-Wilson finishing      conditions. In the last 15 years,
equipment from Fives are proven        over 40 heavy-duty straightening
solutions for tube and pipe makers.    machines that meet API and GOST
                                       standards were installed in Russia,
 Fives Bronx Ltd                       China, Europe and the Americas.

 Churchill House, Third Avenue         The Taylor-Wilson hydrotester is
 West Midlands, DY6 7                  equipped with a double head to
 UK                                    maximize plant production. It fea-
                                       tures heavy duty design for long
 Tel: +44 (0)870 442 2686              life and low maintenance with a
 Fax: +44 (0)870 442 2989              fully automatic operation.
 fivesbronxuk-sales@                   Last year, Fives supplied process
 fivesgroup.com                        and finishing equipment to the
 www.fivesgroup.com                    same tube maker.

                                                                             ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019   27
Member News

Magnetic Analysis Corporation

Magnetic Analysis Corp’s Long-Time President
and Chairman William Gould
Was a Leader in Nondestructive Testing
Magnetic Analysis Corporation is          In 2016, he was honored by the         applications to 500mm diameter
sad to report the recent death            American Society for Nondestruc-       oil and gas pipe.
of its Chairman, William S. Gould         tive Testing for his contributions
                                                                                 “He combined his knowledge of
3rd. Gould succeeded his father,          to the NDT industry through his
                                                                                 science with a keen understand-
a company founder, as President           “knowledge and dedication” for
                                                                                 ing of the financial and strategic
in 1964, and remained in that             over 50 years. Gould held a BS
                                                                                 positioning of the company and
role until 2007, when he became           degree in Mechanical Engineering
                                                                                 a genuine desire to provide an
Chairman, a position he held until        from Yale, where he was a member
                                                                                 opportunity for each employee to
his death. During his tenure, he          of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor
                                                                                 grow to their full potential. The
successfully built the company            Society, and an MBA degree from
                                                                                 result was not only the success-
from a small US-based nonde-              Harvard Business School, where
                                                                                 ful growth of the business, but
structive test designer and manu-         he was a Baker Scholar.
                                                                                 also the long-term commitment of
facturer to its current position as
                                          Over the course of his years as        countless employees all over the
a global leader in providing NDT
                                          President of MAC®, Gould led the       world”, observed his son Robert
eddy current, ultrasonic and flux
                                          company into many new develop-         R. Gould, MAC’s recently elected
leakage systems and services.
                                          ments, beginning with the intro-       Chairman.
                                          duction of the ERIC eddy current
                                                                                 The Gould family, which has been
                                          tester in 1968, which featured solid
                                                                                 the controlling shareholder of
                                          state electronics, phase gating,
                                                                                 MAC since its founding in 1928,
                                          and later, pulsed eddy current
                                                                                 remains committed to the busi-
                                          techniques. During the 1970’s, he
                                                                                 ness and MAC’s current manage-
                                          expanded the company’s products
                                                                                 ment team, ably led by President/
                                          to include flux leakage testers,
                                                                                 CEO Dudley Boden and Vice Presi-
                                          and in 1989, MAC introduced its
                                                                                 dent/CFO Thomas Gannalo. MAC’s
                                          own line of Echomac® ultrasonic
                                                                                 business now includes plants in
                                          rotary testers for tube and bar.
                                                                                 Elmsford, New York; Boardman,
                                          In 1992, under Gould’s leadership,     Ohio; Östersund, Sweden; subsid-
                                          the company launched the ERIC V,       iaries in Italy, the UK, Australia
                                          the first fully computerized eddy      and Sweden; and representatives
                                          current tester. Featuring a real-      around the globe.
                                          time, full-color graphic display
                                          and sophisticated software control
                                          of test parameters and analysis of      Magnetic Analysis
                                          test signals, this instrument set       Corporation
                                          a new benchmark for the indus-          103 Fairview Park Drive
                                          try. Gould oversaw the company’s        NY 10523-1544 Elmsford
                                          expansion into worldwide markets        USA
                                          along with the development of           Tel:		   +1 915 530-2000
                                          sophisticated, automated test           Fax:     +1-914 703-3790
                                          systems for a broad range of prod-
                                                                                  info@mac-ndt.com
                                          ucts - extending from small diam-
                                                                                  www.mac-ndt.com
                                          eter tube, bar and wire for critical

 28    ITAtube Journal No3/October 2019
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