Russia’s TMK has installed a cold-rolling mill for new precision pipes at its TMK-INOX Sinarsky pipe plant. The 260mt annual capacity high-speed rolling mill will automatically produce long precision tubes from stainless steel grades. The addition of the new mill doubles the production of pipes for steam generators at nuclear power plants. The company is expanding capacity in higher-value-added products.
TMK produces tubular products for the oil and gas industry at plants in Russia, Romania, and Kazakhstan. Pre-covid, TMK shipped 3.8mn mt of pipe worldwide. In 2020, pipe sales dropped by 26pc to 2.8mn mt against the previous year with 72p pc or 2mn mt seamless pipe and the remaining 28pc or 785,000mt welded pipe.