TPT March 2007

Industry News

is a component of the modern high-tech seamless pipe production complex being created at the enterprise.

Business News in Brief…

business news in brief…

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Following one of the most publicly drawn out bidding wars ever, Tata Steel of India (www.tatasteel.com) has finally beaten Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional to the ownership of Anglo-Dutch producer Corus . Due to the industrial tug- of-war, Britain’s takeover panel had set up an auction where Tata’s offer of 608 pence per share pipped the offer of 603 pence by CSN. The total deal is believed to be worth US$13.7bn. Salzgitter AG (www.salzgitter-ag.de), Germany, and Vallourec SA , France, have begun the initial stages of Salzgitter’s planned acquisition of Vallourec Précision Etirage (VPE), France, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Vallourec. VPE is specialised in the manufacture of cold drawn precision tubes for automotive and industrial applications, with expected sales for 2006 of €220mn. With 1,230 staff, VPE operations include five production plants in France. Eagle Precision Technologies Ltd (www.eaglept.com), Canada, a provider of tube bending and forming solutions, has introduced a new five year warranty programme. The warranty covers new machinery, including the company’s line of CNC tube benders and end formers. ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ Machinery International Corp (www. machyintl.com), McMillan Conroy Machinery and Cedar Hill Industries Ltd , have moved to a newer, larger and more modern facility. The new address for the facility is 20 Commerce Drive, North Branford, CT 06471-1250, USA. ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

UKF Stainless Ltd (www.ukfstainless. co.uk), UK, has reported a successful financial year, with turnover increasing to nearly GB£7m, and a budget of GB£9m for the year 2006/2007. During the last 12 months the company has made major changes to its management team. While continuing to be a main UK distributor of automotive tubing, the company has received new business for cut, polished and manipulated tube. The stainless tubing division of Dofasco Copperweld , USA, has announced that its website – www.lasertubes.biz – has been redesigned and expanded to include new technical literature, additional tolerance and size charts, an ecommerce site that will have order entry capabilities, and new product brochures, including Chinese and Spanish versions. Plastic pipe, components and fittings specialist, Polypipe (www.polypipe.com) has chosen IFS Applications to bolster its financial, supply chain, manufacturing, distribution and maintenance operations across the UK. IFS Applications 7 will replace numerous disparate legacy systems to automate a range of labour- intensive and costly manual processes. Other IFS customers include Schlemmer Filtrona Extrusion, Nolato Plastteknik AB, and Euroform AB. Seversky Tube Works, a subsidiary of TMK (www.tmk-group.com), has completed the installation of a new piercing mill, the latest stage of the company’s strategic investment program. The piercing mill ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

A new journal entitled Journal of Coatings Technology and Research (www. springer.com/journal/11998) has resulted from the merger of Surface Coatings International Part B: Coatings Transaction and the Journal of Coatings Technology Research. Jointly owned by the Oil & Colour Chemists’ Association (OCCA) and Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology (FSCT), the journal will be published by Springer Science+Media LLC. It will be available in four issues during 2007, both as printed issues and online through SpringerLink. The Hazira operations of Essar Steel Ltd (www.essar.com), India, has commissioned a continuous caster built and supplied by SMS Demag AG , Germany. The caster produces slabs in widths of up to 2,000mm and a thickness of 220/260mm. Designed for an annual production of 1.8mn tons of steel, the caster will be used to produce heavy-plate and tube-steel grades. Roll-Kraft (www.roll-kraft.com), USA, has taken delivery and installed additional CNC’s at its headquarters facility in Mentor, OH. This latest addition brings Roll-Kraft’s capacity to 36 CNC machines, which will lead to an increase in manufacturing levels. MID (www.variacor.net), France, is seeking international distributors for its Variacor ® joint system. The system is designed to make all hoses flexible and adjustable, whatever the pressure and rigidity. Variacor joints have been designed for applications such as automotive assembly lines. ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

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