business & market news
30
Tube Products International January 2014
Half century in the Channel Islands
Lilleshall Steel in Gloucester, UK, part
of the Barrett Steel Group, recently
celebrated its first fifty years supplying
customers in the Channel Islands.
Sales manager Danielle Ferkin, who has
worked at the company for the past
ten years, commented, “Our industry
has changed dramatically over the past
half-century. As a hardware supplier we
originally supplied customers in Jersey
and Guernsey with products as diverse
as buckets and horseshoes. At first
there was no supply chain network on
the Islands. Now our lorry loads from
Poole consist of mild and stainless steel,
including products for use in harbours
and marine applications, and hotels and
schools for new build and maintenance
projects. Our lasting arrangement with
the shipper, Channel Seaways in Poole,
who deliver directly to customers, has
the happy result of our customers
knowing and trusting us.”
Michael J McCarthy, proprietor
and managing director of Five Oaks
Ironworks in Jersey, explained why the
company has been a customer for so
many years: “We have been purchasing
our steel products from Lilleshall Steel
Services since the early 1970s and have
remained loyal customers because of
the excellent service they have given us.
We always have had a first-rate trading
relationship because they have always
offered us a very personal service
coinciding with their frequent visits to
us over here. We are sure of many
more years enjoying the company’s
exceptional service.”
Lilleshall Steel also supplies customers
in Gloucester, the West Midlands, South
Wales, Bristol and the Forest of Dean
with a range of mild steels. The company
combines a local, personalised and
tailored service, backed by the resources
of independent steel stockholder Barrett
Steel Group.
Barrett Steel consists of 42 companies
operating from 28 locations across the
UK, and is divided into four divisions:
general steels, engineering steels,
tubes, and international. Recent
expansion has seen a stockholding
and processing facility being opened
in Houston, Texas, USA. The numerous
steel stockholding companies and
divisions operating across the UK serve
customers worldwide.
Barrett Steel
– UK
Axis breaks ground for new facility
Officials of Axis Pipe and Tube, The
Prolamsa Group and state and local
officials participated in ground breaking
ceremonies in Bryan, Texas, USA, for a
new pipe and tube facility. The company
will invest in excess of $150mn in the
new state-of-the-art facility.
The plant is scheduled to begin
production by mid-2014 and will
produce more than 300,000 tons a
year of energy-related tubular products
aimed at meeting the growing demand
of the US oil and natural gas industries.
The facility will operate as Axis Pipe and
Tube, Inc, a division of The Prolamsa
Group.
Company officials were quick to praise
the Bryan area. “We are pleased to
become a part of the Bryan community.
We looked at a number of possible
locations throughout the south-eastern
and south-western United States for
a plant site. Bryan offers a unique
combination of factors that includes a
technically oriented work force, close
proximity to customers and suppliers,
and a business-friendly environment.
“From Bryan we have easy access
to the highways and the rail system,
allowing for quick, efficient delivery
to our customers, many of whom are
located right here in the heart of one
of the main markets for the oil and gas
industry.” The new 183-acre facility
will produce ERW energy tubular
products in diameters up to 16", with
wall thicknesses up to 0.625". The
plant will be fully integrated with a
slitting line, mill, finishing floor and
heat treatment facilities, and will have
the capability to produce a wide range
of API grades.
Prolamsa Inc
– USA
Axis Pipe and Tube, Inc
– USA
Contract success at hospital development
Iron technology company Saint-Gobain
PAM UK, part of international materials
company Saint-Gobain, has added to
its supply contract to the new West
Cumberland Hospital by agreeing
a contract to supply shower gullies
and floor drainage products from its
new VortX range. The company was
already supplying its Ensign Soil cast
iron above-ground pipes and fittings to
the hospital in Whitehaven, Cumbria,
UK. A further agreement has been
made to supply 137 floor gully units
and nickel bronze gratings for shower
applications and 28 plant room drains.
The gullies were selected because of
their construction in cast iron and their
design in accordance with the BS EN
1253 standard. The VortX products
were required to go through a rigorous
approval process by the local health
authority for use within a hospital
environment.
The hospital is due for completion in
December 2015.
Saint-Gobain PAM UK
