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Tube Products International May 2013
BSS Industrial
– UK
What is more, the British standards, whilst reducing the risk of
non-conformity, offer only limited security for tube users. The
variation in product quality from one end of EN 10253 and
EN 10217 to the other is vast.
My advice to tube users is therefore twofold. Firstly, in safety
critical applications where the risk of failure is a significant
refurbishment cost, hot formed tube sourced from market
leading manufacturers, such Tata Steel, who manufacture the
Install+ range of hot formed products, can mitigate the risk
of failure.
Secondly, it is important to only use tube that can be fully
traced throughout the supply chain. Cheap imported steel
tube may appear to offer a cost-effective alternative but its
lack of traceability could leave contractors at the mercy of
costly legal proceedings if the tube fails.
In the current economic environment, the temptation for
contractors is to try and buy more cost effectively in order
to try and maintain a margin, and steel tubing would appear
to offer just such an opportunity. However, this policy is not
without serious implications if the wrong tube is used in an
application or, worse, low grade imported tube is used.
Cold formed tube, manufactured by a reputable company,
bought through a reputable distributor and used in a suitable
application is perfectly acceptable, but its use must be
application-specific. I would urge all steel tube users to take
the advice of a good distributor before specifying steel tube,
as not all tube is the same.
BSS Industrial, part of the plumbing and heating division of
Travis Perkins plc, is a pipeline and heating distributor.
Established over 110 years ago, BSS has more than 60 national
branches, a national distribution centre based at Lutterworth
in the East Midlands and a national tube distribution centre in
Coventry.
BSS Industrial is a pipeline and heating distributor
