Tenaris ramps up Bay City, Texas, facility

Steelmaker Tenaris says it has produced its first seamless pipe at its Bay City, Texas, mill after having tested the complete hot rolling process.

The solid steel billet underwent the transformation from bar to pipe starting at a rotary furnace, passing through a piercer, and, after going through other stages of production, the pipe made its way to the cooling bed.

“This first pipe sets our ramp up of production in motion,” says Germán Curá, Tenaris president of North American operations. “This is a major achievement and a reflection of the dedication by our entire team, who have contributed hard work in all aspects of the process.”

The production of the first pipe marks what Tenaris calls the last major milestone in the construction of the new seamless facility, which is Tenaris’ first greenfield project in 60 years.

Two areas of the plant – heat treatment and finishing - were already in operation, processing and threading pipes. Tenaris says it also has been dispatching pipe to customers from the mill’s onsite service center.

Tenaris indicates its mill in Bay City serves as the hub of its industrial activity in the United States, driving its mill-to-rig business model known as Rig Direct, which synchronizes the production of pipe with customers’ drilling operations through the direct delivery of pipes and services.

Tenaris calls the $1.8 billion seamless plant “the most advanced, automated pipe manufacturing facility in the world, with a capacity to produce 600,000 tons of OCTG (oil country tubular goods) when fully operational."

Luxembourg-based Tenaris operates mills and other assets belonging to former Mexican steelmaker Tamsa and Argentina-based steelmaker Siderca.