TPi July 2016

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32 Tube Products International July 2016
products & developments
Weld-free coiled tubing
in lengths over 1,000m
Sandvik’s first 1,010m coiled tube reel
has been delivered to an offshore oil and
gas customer.
To meet a growing need for coiled
tubing in very long lengths, Sandvik’s
high-precision tubing unit in Werther,
Germany, has developed a method
that enables the production of stainless
tubing in lengths exceeding 1,000m
from a single 125kg hollow, with zero
welds. The new production technique
– a combination of pilgering, precision
drawing and proprietary processes – is
expected to be beneficial for the oil and
gas and other industries.
“No matter how skilled you are at
welding, there is always a risk of cracking
or corrosion,” said Christofer Hedvall,
managing director of the high-precision
tubing unit. “With our new production
method, we take risk completely out of
the equation.” Mr Hedvall noted that rig
crews, well completion teams and other
professionals working in challenging
environments are looking for safe,
time-saving methods supported by a
continuous supply of weld-free material.
While the initial order was from the oil
and gas sector, Sandvik anticipates
that other industries could also find
the extended-length technology to be
useful.
“This is the result of an ongoing
innovation journey that started some
years back,” said Mr Hedvall, noting
that the company is now introducing
nickel alloy tube Alloy 625 (Sanicro
60) and Alloy C276 (Sanicro 56), and
has received ISO 50001 certification
(a major part of the Green Factory
approach), NORSOK approval and DIN
EN 9100 qualification.
“We’re striving to provide complete
‘precision performance’ solutions to the
aerospace, oil and gas, medical and
other industries. Our customers want
more choice and flexibility both in terms
of materials and formats.”
The Werther operation, which produced
its first stainless steel tubes in 1957,
specialises in thick-walled tubing
(1-70mm OD), extreme pressures
(10,153 to 160,000 psi), exacting
tolerances, low defects (50µm max)
and extreme temperature. Many of
these requirements for high-precision
tubing are becoming increasingly
acute as industry heads into the era
of Industry 4.0, with higher needs for
interconnected control.
Sandvik Materials Technology –
Sweden
Breakthrough for SSAB cold-formed
tubes in Sweden
Structures made of SSAB’s cold-formed
steel tubes were recently selected for
a steel construction of tube bridges
at Södra Cell in Värö, Sweden. The
company Hjalmarsson in Sölvesborg
used approximately 700 tons of cold-
formed tubes and manufactured the
pipe bridges that were delivered to Värö.
Thanks to the material choice,
environmental impact was reduced, as
cold-formed tubes are manufactured
with a production process that requires
less energy.
“As structures for buildings, the
cold-formed tubes have the same
characteristics and meet the same
demands as hot-rolled tubes,” said
Peter Sverin, regional sales manager at
distributor and seller Tibnor. “The end
result gives both significant cost savings
and a better environmental choice.”
Technical development manager Jan
Österholm and account manager
Magnus Johansson have worked with
the Swedish construction market to
promote the use of cold-formed tubes.
The material is more common in Finland
thanks to earlier establishment on the
market with Ruukki, and there is now
a possibility of converting all Nordic
countries to using cold-formed tubes.
SSAB AB – Sweden
Exploring the benefits of cold-formed tube
structures
Sandvik can produce stainless tubing over
1,000m in length from a single 125kg hollow,
with zero welds