TPT September 2013

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Industry News
6 September 2013
The Tube
show in 2012
Fives acquires Marcegaglia
Group subsidiary OTO Mills
FIVES has signed an agreement to
acquire OTO Mills, an Italy-based
supplier of high performance mills for
the production of welded tubes and
automation systems for the steel industry.
Founded in 1980, OTO’s main activity
is to design, manufacture and install
complete systems for the production of
welded tubes and profiles. Its focus on
key technological innovations makes
it a leader for ERW mills and allows
OTO to supply a wide range for the
production of tubes with a diameter up
to 24" that are used for a large variety of
industrial applications, including oil and
gas. OTO also brings along a significant
automation expertise offering superior
reliability and productivity.
Its industrial expertise has enabled
OTO to develop a large and loyal
customer base all over the world: today,
about 700 plants in 70 countries are
equipped with OTO solutions. In 2013,
OTO will generate a turnover of €90m,
half of which is in North and South
America. In its three modern facilities in
Northern Italy, OTO employs a workforce
of around 250 people with outstanding
engineering and design skills.
The acquisition complements
Fives’ current offer in tubes and pipes
processing lines supplied by Fives
Bronx under the brand names of Bronx/
Taylor-Wilson, which offers finishing
solutions for a wide range of seamless
and welded tube mills, and Abbey,
which supplies welded tube mills with
an expertise primarily directed towards
large diameter mills.
Fives will also benefit from OTO’s
automation expertise, which will be a
strong asset for Fives’ other activities
in steel.
Frédéric Sanchez, chairman of the
executive board of Fives, said: “OTO
Mills will bring a unique expertise as
well as best-in-class technologies that
will significantly enhance our current
activity in the supply of pipe and tube
mills. Its superior geographical outreach
will also open new commercial horizons
to our business.”
Antonio Marcegaglia, CEO of the
Marcegaglia Group, added: “I am sure
that OTO Mills, after so many years
of success and achievements, from
scratch to worldwide leadership, as
part of a large industrial engineering
group will find new growth opportunities
through even larger synergies, while
preserving its unique identity.”
The acquisition is expected to close
shortly, upon applicable regulatory
approvals.
Fives is an industrial engineering
group created 200 years ago. Fives
designs and manufactures process
equipment, production lines and turnkey
plants for the world’s largest industrial
companies in the aluminium, steel,
glass, automotive, logistics, cement and
energy sectors, both in emerging and
developed countries.
In all these areas, Fives designs
breakthrough innovations that anticipate
and respond to the needs of its
customers in terms of profitability, safety
and environmental responsibility. In
2012, Fives achieved sales of €1.5bn
and employed more than 6,500 people in
about 30 countries.
Fives Bronx Inc – USA
Fax: +1 330 244 1961
Email:
Website:
Stainless steel rolling mill ordered
THE Chinese company FuJian WuHang
Stainless Steel from FuJian Province,
has placed an order with SMS Meer,
Germany, for the supply of the core
technologies for construction of a new
stainless steel rolling mill. The mill
produces wire rod and bar in coils.
The core facilities include a modern
3-roll PSM® (Precision Sizing Mill) with
hydraulic roll adjustment performed
under load, which finish-rolls all final sizes
from diameter 13 to 38mm from a single-
pass family. Furthermore, the PSM® also
produces all the necessary initial cross-
sections for the wire rod block.
The scope of supply of the PSM®
includes the automatic stand-changing
system, the workshop for preparation
of the stands and guides, and also the
CARTA® system, which provides the
specific setting values depending on the
product and dimension. All the finished
products of the 3-roll PSM® sizing block
are coiled on a newly designed coiler
which ensures top quality by producing
scratch-free finished products, and
optimum shaping, height and coiling
densities of the coils.
Another core component is the wire
rod finishing block with MEERdrive ®
technology. The special feature of this
facility is that each stand is individually
driven with a single motor. The wire
rod dimensions range from 5 to 20mm
diameter.
SMS Meer will supply the entire
package of a modern coil handling
system with several coil transportation
routes for superior martensitic, ferritic
and austenitic grades.
“With these modern core facilities
FuJian WuHang will be able to
manufacture high-quality products very
cost-effectively and with maximum
flexibility,” says Liu WeiGuo, plant
director, FuJian WuHang.
The mill has an annual production
capacity of 300,000 tons and rolls high
quality special steels. Commissioning
was scheduled for the 2nd quarter of 2013.
SMS Meer GmbH – Germany
Email:
Website:
Stainless steel rolling mill from SMS Meer