TPT July 2012

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Industry News
10 July 2012
Boeing award
for tube bender
manufacturer
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
m a i n t e n a n c e
decks of aircraft
carriers.
The machines
are specially
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
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
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.
Pines Technology – USA
Fax: +1 440 835 5556
Email:
Website:
Tube China 2012 in Shanghai
ASIA’s number one tube and pipe industry
exhibition, the 5th All China – International
Tube & Pipe Industry Trade Fair – Tube
China 2012 – will take place again for the
5th 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 85,000m2. 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
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
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.
Tube China
Website:
Ian Williamson accepting the award from Boeing
Pines Bender for V-22 Osprey
fuel and hydraulic lines