As part of their growth strategy Benteler Stahl, Rohr (BSR) situated in Paderborn, Germany is to build a seamless tube mill in the USA. The mill will be built in Shreveport, in the North-western part of Louisiana, and will be one of the largest production plants in the history of this region.
The 4½" mill is designed for an annual capacity of 320kt/y and will produce high-quality seamless tubes with excellent tolerances and flawless material properties according to API and ASTM-standards. Danieli & C, of Italy is the main contractor and will supply the mill on a turnkey basis.
An Extracting Block and a Stretch Reducing Block , both essential components of the hot rolling mill, will be supplied by Danieli Centro Tube, Milan, Italy and Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG headquartered in Hilden, Germany.
Benteler has opted for rolling blocks with a modular design which are equipped with both non-adjustable and adjustable roll stands. The stands are operated with individually driven rolls and as they are interchangeable can be used in the Extractor as well as in the Stretcher block at every stand position.
The automation system enables visualisation of the measured data from the rolling mill while at the same time allows the operator to control the operation, minimising heavy ends and wall thickness variation. This translates into a consistently high production of seamless tubes of top quality and at the same time reducing operational mistakes to a minimum.
Start-up of the new seamless tube mill is scheduled for the second half of 2015.
