Texas-based Tenaris, a supplier of tubes and related services to the energy industry, recently invested $2.1 million to restart heat treatment and finishing operations at its Koppel manufacturing facility.
“Reopening the heat treatment and finishing lines in Koppel reinforces the strength of our domestic production capabilities for our customers across the US,” Guillermo Moreno, Tenaris U.S. president, said. “Koppel remains a cornerstone of our US operations, allowing us to deliver high quality steel products that support US energy and industrial needs.”
The company operates an integrated steel pipe manufacturing system in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Steel billets are produced in an electric arc furnace for seamless pipe manufacturing in Koppel then sent to Ambridge to be rolled into seamless oil country tubular goods. The pipes return to Koppel to be heat treated, finished, tested, and inspected. The pipes are threaded and undergo final inspection in Ohio before being shipped to customers.
Restarting operations will strengthen Tenaris’s industrial production footprint in the United States. To support reactivation, the company is hiring more than 80 employees.
Last year, the company invested more than $150 million in the adjacent Koppel steel shop and $85 million to upgrade the exhaust system. It also purchased a Beaver Falls scrap processing yard.