Posted on 17 Apr 2012
China's Tangshan Iron & Steel (Tanggang), a subsidiary of Hebei Iron & Steel (Hegang), has started
construction of a 1.3m tonnes/year welded pipe plant in Tangshan city in northern China’s Hebei province.
The project could help Tanggang become more competitive, the company hopes.
The project is located in Caofeidian industrial district’s Gangchi island, located 80 kilometers south of
Tangshan city. It will cost RMB 7bn ($1.1bn), according to a company release.
Tanggang says the new operation will be able to produce 600,000 t/y of longitudinal welded pipes, 500,000
t/y of spiral welded pipes and 200,000 t/y of other pipes. The output will mainly target the energy and
construction sectors.
Tanggang will supply the pipe plant from its existing flat rolling operations, the company says. Integrated
mills are better placed to make money from pipes because they do not lose margin on strip, an industry
source notes.
Such a large project usually would be divided into several stages, a second source tells Platts Steel
Business Briefing. “I heard the project would start with an initial stage of 300,000 t/y of welded pipes
capacity,” he says. However, Tanggang has not confirmed a construction schedule.
Tanggang currently operates a welded pipe operation in its Steel Strip Factory in Tangshan city, which can
produce 700,000 t/y of narrow strip and commercial grade electrical resistant welded pipes, SBB notes.
Tanggang produced 16.11m t of crude steel in 2011, according to company data.
