TPT January 2011

I ndustry N ews

Steady sales boost tube and pipe manufacturers MST Seamless Tube & Pipe, based in South Lyon, Michigan, has increased its workforce to near-record levels after a three-month period of strong sales. The manufacturer of seamless cold-drawn pipe and tube has had a recent hiring surge that brings its total number of hourly and salaried employees up to 250, near where it was before the state’s economic downturn. A decrease in sales volume nearly two years ago necessitated a slight downsizing. As South Lyon’s largest non-governmental employer, the downsizing weighed heavily on MST’s executive management, who immediately went to work to minimise the impact. “Because of the decreased sales, we have worked diligently over the past year to manage costs, and we’ve been successful keeping profits in check,” said Les Whitver, vice president of operations. In 2010, MST experienced a 36% increase in tonnage booked and has seen a marked increase in distributor and OEM sales of mechanical tubing. Boiler and pressure tube sales have been steady, with notable increases in pipe sales. MST’s recent addition of a UV coating line has positioned the manufacturer to sell pipe into the distribution market. Current demand for pipe and tube from MST is so strong, lead times for products have been moved from four weeks to seven or longer. The company is still able to maintain a steady 98%+ on-time shipping performance each month. “The overall economic recovery has helped fuel MST’s increased business levels, but I believe a lot of the credit is owed to our dedicated and determined sales group,” said Ted Fairley, vice president of sales and marketing. “They stay on top of every opportunity and provide stellar service. Their efforts are backed by the best operational group in the industry, and together they ensure our quality products are delivered on time and every customer is completely satisfied.” MST – USA Fax: +1 248 437 2779 Ghana pipe lay contract TECHNIP has been awarded by GNPC (Ghana National Petroleum Company) a lump sum contract for phase 1 of the Natural Gas Transportation and Processing project, 60km offshore Ghana. The contract covers the engineering, welding and installation of a 14km- long rigid steel flowline, as well as the engineering, fabrication and installation of one PLET (pipeline end termination, a subsea structure to connect rigid flowline and flexible riser). The flowline will constitute the deep water section of a pipeline which will be used to pipe natural gas from the Jubilee field to the future onshore processing plant. The contract will be executed by the group’s operating centre in Paris, France. The flowline will be welded at Technip’s spoolbase in Mobile, Alabama. Installation operations were scheduled to start at the end of 2010, and will be carried out by Apache II, Technip’s new pipelay vessel. Technip – France Website: www.technip.com Email: info@mstube.com Website: www.mstube.com

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J anuary 2011

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