Issue October 2012
Editors
Anne Cunningham
[email protected]
Christian Borrmann
John Butterfield
Steven Keddy
Huang Juan
Publishing Director
Donald Wiedemeyer
[email protected]
Spotlight on
The Schulz Group of Companies:
First class seamless pipe
– Made in USA
Editorial Director
Sjef Roymans MA
[email protected]
new state-of-the-art seamless pipe mill in Tunica, Mississippi, USA.
Advertising
Nicole Nagel
[email protected]
Andre Davanzo
[email protected]
Liu Hui
[email protected]
Marcus Rohrbacher
[email protected]
Subscriptions
Erica Riethorst
[email protected]
Renate Collet-Gorter
[email protected]
Press contributions
[email protected]
Design & Layout
AEL Data
www.aeldata.com
Production
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Page 2 www.sswnews.com
Large stocks of billet material in Stainless Steel, Duplex, Superduplex and high alloy grades enables SXP to respond
quickly to customers’ demands.
It has been nearly 70 years since Mr. Wilhelm Schulz established a fabrication mill for the local needs of the rising industries in regards to stainless steel piping accessories and related spool welding work. His passion to
always provide the highest achievable services to the clientele –especially
concerning product quality and performance reliability– soon paid off and
the company has been growing ever since. Today The Schulz Group of
Companies encompasses sales / stock offices and 6 manufacturing plants
in about 20 countries worldwide. Stainless Steel World News spoke to
Marketing Manager, Mr. Stefan Zwickardt, to get the latest news from the
Schulz Group.
By Anne Cunningham
One of the first things that
stand out when Mr. Stefan
Zwickardt speaks about
the history of the Schulz
Group is that even though
the Wilhelm Schulz GmbH
was founded well over half
a century ago, the company’s philosophy has never
changed. The Group’s slogan “Passion for Piping”
can be directly linked to the
standards developed by the
company founder’s passion
to provide the highest level
of service possible. “Quality
is key for us”, explains Mr.
Zwickardt, “We offer sophisticated piping solutions for
clients all over the world.
The company’s growth has
Pipes ready for final inspection.
come forth out of the need
to offer the best possible service.” A fine example of this
is one of the latest members
of the Schulz Group: Schulz
Xtruded Products (SXP), the
SX-Clad
Pipelines and process piping are being exposed to increasingly severe corrosive environments as the new reserves of
oil and gas discovered are in deeper and deeper locations.
This increased depth results in higher temperatures and
pressures which add to the aggressiveness of the corrosion
encountered. Methods to combat this situation include the
introduction of inhibitor systems and the use of more costly
piping materials such as duplex, super duplex and nickel
base alloys.
For these challenging applications the Schulz Group of
Companies has developed a special process, seamless
metallurgical bonded clad, which guarantees the highest
quality at attractive pricing. Corrosion Resistant Alloy (CRA)
clad pipe and fittings are composite products, combining
the best properties of different metals, the high mechanical
strength and economical advantages of carbon steel and
the proven corrosion resistance of the NiCr family of alloys.
The advantage is a solid-state diffusion reaction between
the carbon steel carrier pipe and the CRA metal cladding
that does not require the addition of a low melting compound at the interface to promote diffusion. In addition to
the pipes, the Schulz Group also supplies a whole range
of Schulz cold-formed BW pipe fittings in all seamless clad
combinations made from SX-Clad pipe.
Pipes in quenching process.
Schulz Xtruded
Products (SXP)
In January 2012 the Schulz
Group started the production
at Schulz Xtruded Products,
LP (SXP), the group’s first
mill in Northern America.
“We chose the USA as the
location for our investment
because we realized we
could attain a highly qualified workforce able to produce according to our high
standards.” At a cost of USD
130 million it is the group’s
biggest investment so far.
took only 20 months. “We
started building in March
2010 and were ready to
start operation in November 2011.” Since SXP went
into operation the production load and speed have
significantly increased –“We
have also produced seamless pipes in UNS N06625
or Super Duplex grades. All
the pipes have a superior
quality, no eccentricity and
show very smooth surface
conditions which fulfill the
customers’ expectations in
a Schulz product”– and in
phase II, to be implemented
in 2015, manufacturing
pipes up to 32’’ is planned.
In-line production in a production hall of more than 430m total length.
In the new facility the company showcases its expertise
in manufacturing seamless
pipes. The Tunica plant manufactures both hot and cold
finished seamless pipes in
stainless steel grades, duplex
and super duplex grades,
nickel alloys, and various
titanium grades. Additionally SXP produces seamless
metallurgical bonded clad
pipes. The maximum O.D.
is currently 16”, wall thickness from 10S up to XXS
in lengths up to 12 meters.”
Soon the size range will be
increased to 24“ O.D.
From ground breaking
to completion of the mill
Some may see such a
massive investment during
economic unstable years as a
risk, but not at Schulz. “Due
to our high quality products
we were already very well
established in the international markets so, in spite
of the insecure economical
outlook, our business is running very well. We are one
of the very few producers
of seamless pipes with thick
walls and large diameters
in the western world.”, Mr
Zwickardt explains. “Right
now we are even working
on the first pipe orders for
nuclear applications. Also
the response from the mar-
Spotlight on Global News
ket is very promising and
lets us look very confident
to the future and our plans
for phase II of the project.”
When phase II is completed
there will be approximately
500 people working at the
mill. The annual capacity
of the Tunica mill is 20,000
tons right now.
Sales Packages
Another important factor
that enables The Schulz
Group of Companies to
adhere to their philosophy
is the group’s internationally based sales team. “We
have found that more and
more customers appreciate
having everything available
at one source. Based on our
own products like our cold
formed BW-fittings, the
welded pipe from our Brazilian and German plants,
the large diameter seamless
pipe from SXP, and the high
quality products of our business partners we are one of
the few companies who can
offer complete piping packages worldwide.”
In order to fulfill all
service related needs the
Schulz Group has expanded
their sales team throughout the world. “We feel it is
important to have members
of the sales team on location as much as possible and
in order to do so we have
heavily invested in our sales
& service forces in South
East Asia.” After opening a
new sales office in Jakarta,
Indonesia, last year, Schulz
recently decided to set up
another branch with large
stocks for the complete
range of standard sized and
scheduled piping products in
Duplex and Super Duplex in
Busan, South Korea. “The
close and sound relationship
with the major Korean EPC
companies made this very
necessary. Direct links with
our local customers are very
important to Schulz. With
our stocks in USA, Brazil,
Germany and now Korea
and offices worldwide we
are getting closer and closer
to our customers and can
serve their needs quicker and
Extrusion with a pressure of 7,000 metric tons.
more efficient.” This being
said more Schulz offices
worldwide can be expected.
Meet & Greet
As always Schulz will be
presenting its products at
many sales shows worldwide. You can meet the sales
team at the Adipec in Abu
Dhabi, 11-14 November, the
Offshore Korea in Busan,
14-16 November and the
OSEA in Singapore, 27-30
November, where they will
be happy to give you more
information and answer any
questions.
Facts & Figures
Name: Schulz Group of Companies
Materials: Standard stainless steels, special stainless steels, high nickel alloys,
duplex and super duplex steels, 6 Mo grades, super austenitics, titanium
alloys, clad steels, CuNi grades
Industries: Water treatment, oil and gas, nuclear, chemical, petrochemical
Employees:
Approx. 800 employees worldwide
Internet:www.wschulz.com
Schulz Xtruded Products (SXP) in Tunica, Mississippi, USA.
New manufacturing facility in the UK
Hempel Wire Ltd, the specialist stainless steel and
nickel alloy wire producer
within the Hempel Special Metals Group, have
announced the completion
of a purpose built manufacturing facility in Rotherham,
South Yorkshire, UK.
The new two storey
construction has a floor area
in excess of 2000 m2 which
will allow the continued
growth of the profile wire
and specialty product business for Hempel Wire Ltd.
In addition to new rolling
lines the new building will
also include a bespoke tool
room, laboratory, inspection lines and an area for
research and development.
The
expansion
in
production capacity and
product range will enable
Hempel Wire to continue
to strengthen their role as a
key partner within the Wire
Industry.
Start-up of Devenick Gas Project
in Central North Sea
BP has successfully startedup the Devenick gas project
in the central North Sea.
The Devenick project is a
subsea tie-back to Marathon
Oil’s East Brae platform and
provides an important new
source of domestic gas for
the UK.
Trevor
Garlick,
Regional President for BP’s
North Sea business, said:
“The Devenick project has
been delivered safely and on
schedule. The project provides an important source of
domestic gas to the UK and
has also been a great example of the UK’s strengths in
subsea engineering. Around
GBP 500 million has been
invested in the UK supply
chain during the development of this project.”
Production from the
field is due to peak in 2013
at up to 100 million standard cubic feet per day.
Total investment by BP and
its partners in the Devenick project has been around
GBP 650 million.
Energy Minister John
Hayes said: “As winter
approaches, BP’s announcement is very warmly welcome. When the Devenick
project comes on full stream
it will add an extra three per
cent to current UK gas production - enough to supply
the equivalent of more than
TMK Commissions New
Production Lines at TMK-INOX
TMK-INOX, a subsidiary
of TMK, has commissioned
a shop manufacturing stainless steel and alloy-based
welded precision pipes.
Two welding lines produced by Italy’s OLIMPIA
80 Srl, a leading manufacturer of pipe welding equipment, were installed at the
plant. At the next stage of
the welded stainless steel
pipes production development, a top-of-the-line highperformance large stainless
steel coil slitter is to be commissioned.
The new welded stainless steel pipe shop produces
high-quality pipes conforming to world-class samples
and standards (DIN 17457-
Price raise in
Europe
Acerinox has decided to
John Hayes, Energy Minister UK
half a million homes a year.
“The majority of this
project’s GBP 650 million
investment has benefited
UK companies, and it is
only because of the expertise of our world class subsea sector that this project
is technically possible.”
BP owns 88.7 per cent and
RWE Dea UK the remaining 11.3 per cent.
raise its base price 50 €
per ton immediately in
Europe.
This is one of the initiatives
that Acerinox is taking to recover reasonable margins,
after a long period of declining prices of stainless steel
and the increases of raw materials prices and supplies.
11850, ASTM A249, A269,
A270, and NFA 4914749249), which are in great
demand with car manufacturers, food, energy, and
construction companies.
According to the project
plans, after reaching their
full production capacity the
lines will annually produce
10,000 tonnes of high-tech
welded stainless steel and
alloy pipes.
“The new shop commissioning marks the second
stage of the precision stainless steel pipes manufacturing as part of our unique
TMK-INOX project. When
starting our nanotechnologybased production of seamless stainless steel pipes
two years
ago, we
laid the
groundw o r k
for
our
expansion
into the
emergent
market
niche of Alexander Shiryaev,
CEO of TMK
specialpurpose
pipes. With the production
of welded stainless steel
pipes now in place, we are
ready to further strengthen
our market position by offering our customers a wide
range of innovative products
in this segment,” said Alexander Shiryaev, TMK CEO.
continued from front page
The new facility will be part
of the Coil Processing Group
of ThyssenKrupp which
provides production materials such as aluminum, stainless, copper, brass, specialty
metals, steel, and plastics
for the auto industry as well
as commercial food equipment, HVAC equipment and
consumer durable goods.
The German company also
offers storage, delivery services and other supply chain
management services.
“The decision to locate
our Coil Processing Group’s
newest processing and
distribution center in Ala-
bama reflects the economic
vitality
and
extensive
opportunities that exist
in the Southern United
States,” Hans-Josef Hoss,
chief executive of ThyssenKrupp Materials North
America, said in a statement, “Many of our top customers, including Original
Equipment Manufacturers,
have plants and facilities
in Alabama and the surrounding states and require
just-in-time processing and
delivery. Our goal is to further enhance their supply
chains by building this new
facility right here in Woodstock,” he added.
www.sswnews.com
Page 3