TPT July 2012

Industry News

Boeing award for tube bender manufacturer

Pines Bender for V-22 Osprey fuel and hydraulic lines

m a i n t e n a n c e decks of aircraft carriers. The machines are specially

PINES Technology has been honoured by Boeing for the outstanding performance of its CNC tube benders for the V22 Osprey Program. The Pines benders are used to make replacement fuel and hydraulic lines for the Osprey. The benders are built in two configurations – one for mobile land operations and one for fixed, shipboard- based applications. They are designed with a small physical footprint to fit into compact maintenance trailers for land- based operations and to fit in the cramped

built to withstand shock, vibration and temperature variation and are equipped with intuitive controls for easy operation. The benders are linked to a coordinate measuring machine which takes precise

back into service more quickly. Pines CEO Ian Williamson commented, “We’re very thankful to Boeing for their faith in our company and for this award, and are extremely proud to be an integral part of the V22 program.” Boeing Philadelphia has also nominated Pines for small business supplier of the year – only one of six companies to be selected. The company has shipped over 300 bending machines for the US Government and other military applications around the world.

measurements of the lines pulled from each plane. The results are fed into the control and the bender then makes an identical copy. Dimensions differ slightly from plane to plane and the custom bending approach ensures a more precise fit, speeds installation, and gets the aircraft

Pines Technology – USA Fax: +1 440 835 5556

Email: info@pinestech.com Website: www.pinestech.com Tube China 2012 in Shanghai Ian Williamson accepting the award from Boeing

important goal, and development of new product will further accelerate, while steel tube production and export continue to grow steadily. It is an important period of strategic opportunity for China’s steel tube industry to restructure and move forward to a steel power. Tube China 2012 is jointly organised by Metallurgical Council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (MC-CCPIT) and Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co Ltd. Based on the success of past editions, the organisers expect to achieve a new zenith as a famous international trade platform in 2012, given the extending scale and a rapid growth in demand.

was above the average global growth rate of 6.8 per cent. China’s crude steel production accounted for 44.7 per cent of the world in 2010 and has increased to 45.5 per cent in 2011. From January to November 2011, the seamless tube production in China was 24.17 million tons with a year-on- year growth of 8.90 per cent. In terms of production, the top three provinces were Shandong, Jiangsu and Tianjin with production accounted for 19.21 per cent, 14.86 per cent and 13 per cent of the overall production respectively. Meanwhile, welded tubeproductionhas reached 36.68 million tons, an increase of 28.36 per cent year on year, with Tianjin and Hebei achieving more than half of the national output. Energy-saving and emission-reduction will become an

ASIA’s number one tube and pipe industry exhibition, the 5 th All China – International Tube & Pipe Industry Trade Fair – Tube China 2012 – will take place again for the 5 th time in Shanghai New International Expo Centre from 25 to 28 September, 2012. This year, the tube and wire exhibitions are estimated to occupy 7.5 halls, covering a total of 85,000m 2 . 1,500 exhibitors from all over the world are expected to participate, demonstrating the innovative technologies, products and solutions from the areas of global tube industry. According to the statistics of World Steel Association, China’s annual production of crude steel was 695.5 million tons in 2011 accounting for about 45 per cent of global output, with an increase of 8.9 per cent year on year, and

Tube China Website: www.tubechina.net

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July 2012