Sumitomo Metals to Expand Higher Valued Pipe & Tube Products

Sumitomo Metal Industries’ pipe and tube unit tries to produce high valued seamless steel pipe for around 40 billion yen under the new 3-year plan started April. The unit will expand the output capacity by 100,000 tonnes per year and allocates 70% of the expansion for high valued products. The unit tries to establish the position as no.1 solution provider for oil and gas development by improving supply chain management and research and development for oil majors. The unit will expand the seamless pipe sales from planned 1.14 million tonnes for fiscal 2006 started April to 1.24 million tonnes for fiscal 2008 by the gradual investment by first half of fiscal 2008 to improve the facility utilization including speed up of roll change. The unit also adds a heat treating line for small diameter pipe in first half of fiscal 2008. The heat treating capacity will increase from 490,000 tonnes per year to 660,000 tonnes with 3 lines. The unit will add a screw cutting facility in first half of fiscal 2008. The cutting capacity will increase from current 410,000 tonnes per year to 550,000 tonnes with 8 facilities. The unit tries to increase the sales of VAM series, which is high valued screw products, to 85% of total screw sales in fiscal 2008 from 83% in fiscal 2005.The unit also expands output capacity of the super high alloy products from current annual 14,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes in second half of fiscal 2006 as a part of high valued products campaign. The unit will expand the output capacity of 13% chrome seamless pipe by 25% from current 80,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes at the end of fiscal 2006.