TPT March 2008

I ndustry N ews

The success of this event shows the strength of teaming up the North American management board of the ITA with the TPA’s councils of ‘Tube and Pipe Producers’, ‘Tube and Pipe Fabricators’, and ‘Extrusion, Drawing and Tube Reducing Technology’. President and CEO of TPA, Mr Gerald Shankel, commented “I was pleased at how our two organisations came together for such a successful event – for the first time in history!” Mr Paul Russo, 2007 TPA advisory board chairman, states, “This is the first technical conference jointly presented by the TPA and the ITA. It was very well received by the tubing industry. Houston proved to be an excellent venue and I hope both organisations plan to conduct more joint conferences like this in the future.” There are currently preliminary discussions between the two organisations regarding an event in 2009, possibly in Mexico. International Tube Association – UK Fax : +44 1926 314755 Email : info@itatube.org Website : www.itatube.org Tube & Pipe Association, International – USA Fax : +1 815 484 7701 Website : www.tpatube.org

ITA and TPA celebrate successful joint conference in Houston

For the first time in its history, the International Tube Association has celebrated a successful collaboration in co-organising a conference with the Tube & Pipe Association International (TPA), USA. The world-class Pipe & Tube Houston 07 conference – devoted to seamless and welded tubular product technology and

processes – took place last September with heavy attendance from the ITA’s North American membership base. Located at the Woodlands Resort in Woodlands (near Houston), Texas, the three-day event consisted of nearly forty technical paper presentations, four roundtable discussions, a plant tour at

Tex-Tube Company and RTI Fabrications, and two prime networking receptions. Fields of interest included welded- seam tubes, seamless tubes, cold drawing and reducing tubes, extrusion, inspection, finishing, and oil country tubular goods and fittings. A major highlight of the conference was the tabletop exhibitions – with over 40 companies participating. Representatives from the ITA noted that this event featured the largest exhibit area they have hosted in North America.

fi Mr Ron Czerski, vice chairman of ITA’s North American Board (left) with Mr Gerald Shankel, CEO of the TPA

Exhibitors were reported to be pleased with the number of contacts they received during the conference – over 150 attendees visited the tabletops.

Name change for Czech seamless tube producer VVT-Vitkovice Valcovna Trub, a Czech producer of thick-wall seamless steel tubes, has changed its company name and logo. The new name – Valcovna Trub Tz as – was chosen as an integral part of creating a corporate group identity. It is the final step of integration into the structure of the group of companies, Trinecke Zelezarny – Moravia Steel. The company’s current annual tube production capacity is 105kt, of which almost 60 per cent is manufactured on the ‘big Mannesmann’ line, producing tubes of outer diameter 168-406mm. The investment project for revamping and refurbishment of the line will finish in the third quarter of 2008. The second production line – the small Mannesmann – rolls out the tubes with an OD of 60-168mm. The seamless steel tubes are used in the machinery and automobile industry, building and construction, power engineering and chemical industry as well as in crude oil and gas exploitation. The company’s products have been involved in construction of a trade and financial centre in Linz, cavern wells in Germany, sugar mill repairs in Egypt, a government project in Libya, an offshore wind mill in Denmark, and a new power plant project in Chile.

In total, Valcovna Trub achieves 70 per cent of its sales on the international market.

Valcovna Trub Tz as – Czech Republic Fax : +420 595 956 140 Email : info.vvt@vvt.cz • Website : www.tube.cz

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M arch 2008

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