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ISSUE 012 April 2017

Quarterly newspaper of the Tubes business

Investing in the future

WHAT’s INSIDE

New Annual Plan builds on momentum

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Positive attitude is key for safety

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A big ‘PLUS’ attracting girls to engineering

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CORBY STEEL IS A WORK OF ART

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The EWSR Mill 2 (pictured) is to benefit from a new welder which will bring higher line speeds, consistent weld quality and better reliability

Corby’s Electric Welded Stretch Reducing (EWSR) Mill 2 is to benefit from a brand new tube welder, finally replacing one of only four remaining valve welders left in the world.

EWSR and Central finishing Operations Manager, Adrian Price said: “It is fantastic to see nearly £1m of investment coming to the line, which will bring higher line speeds, more consistent weld quality and vastly improved reliability. What’s more, the new welder is designed with a low voltage supply meaning less

dependence on High Voltage (HV) permitry for maintenance work. The scheme is a key part of the Corby Improvement Plan.”

“As time has gone on, the line has unsurprisingly become increasingly unreliable, and we’ve had stoppages waiting for spares to be manufactured.

The fact that our engineers have

kept the line going so long after the technology has effectively become obsolete, is huge testament to their skills, determination and resourcefulness.”

The original HF weld was made by “Electro-heating” using the latest valve technology in 1980. In the late 90’s Corby Works committed itself to replacing all of the old valve welders with IGBT transistor technology. The 6” EW Mill was first, then CFM 1 & 2. The programme was however stopped, leaving EWSR 1 & 2 still with the old valve HF Welders.

Adrian explained: “As time has passed, the valve HF Welder manufacturers, valve makers and many of the component makers have either gone out of business or made components obsolete. The skills to maintain the passive component welders has diminished to such a state that our own engineers are arguably the world experts.

“Now we can look forward to 21st century joining technology, with the project planned to start during the summer shutdown in July / August.”

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OurTube

ISSUE 012 | April 2017

HENRIK’S COLUMN

the right restart Disruptions to our supply chain happen. Unfortunately it’s been happening way too often lately, especially in IJmuiden. The big hit buffers we’ve begun installing in IJmuiden as part of the Future Value Chain programme are helping to reduce the impact on our production. But with so many big hits in a row (a short-circuit, a fire, a network failure), restarting the lines in the right way requires working together - operations and commercial - to come up with a smart plan that focuses on producing the right orders first.

A good example of this was the most recent restart of the Hot Mill in IJmuiden. Rather picking up from where they left before the outage and prioritising the easiest products to make up for lost volume as soon as possible, a different approach was taken. The planning team chose to prioritise a product that required only the walking beam furnace to be operational. As a result volumes were low. It may feel counterintuitive, but this was exactly the right thing to do.

We have a strategy in Europe to move from volume to value, from commodity products to differentiated products. Those high value products have one drawback: mass production is usually not an option, meaning they often come in small runs requiring extra time and effort to manufacture. By effort I mean not only the readjustment of lines, but also the precision needed for the required high quality.

When we give in to the reflex to ramp up volume after an outage, that most likely means we’re prioritising commodity products. Or we’re sacrificing precision. Or both.

It doesn’t fit.

Our aim after an outage should be to restore stability for our customers.

Customers who rely on us because they can’t buy their differentiated product anywhere else. It is our responsibility to do everything we can to avoid line stops, especially for these customers, by maintaining delivery performance.

Henrik Adam Chief Commercial Officer

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New Annual Plan builds on momentum

Working better together is a key theme for the new European Annual Plan, which started on 1 April.

The different parts of the business are keen to build on the momentum of the past year and make sure that better internal alignment will improve service to customers, efficiency and will lead to a sustainable, all-weather company that offers world-class premium products.

“I am convinced we are stronger together and I believe our long-term plans will help us become not just competitive, but a winner in the European steel industry,” said Hans Fischer, CEO and CTO, Europe.

During the finalisation of the individual annual plans of the businesses and functions in the past weeks, great effort was taken to make sure there was as much cohesion as possible.

“Many of our businesses face

challenges that are unique to their region or sector - such as the pension provision in the UK,” said Hans.

“However, there are also challenges that would be better tackled together.

Our approach this year has been to empower businesses to target their specific issues and opportunities themselves while finding support for dealing with common themes from the rest of the company.”

Those themes include better safety performance, improved commercial practices, digitalisation and a determined push to integrate sustainability into daily practice.

“Sustainability - which includes responsible sourcing, minimising our environmental impact, but also matters such as investing in our people and community support - is a key factor

“The new Annual Plan provides clear guidance and sets realistic targets to take us to that next level.”

Hans Fischer CEO & CTO, Europe

that will determine our success for decades to come.

“Steel plays an essential part in the circular economy and our new Annual Plan includes specific actions to help our customers to improve the sustainability performance of their products and operations.”

Local transformation plans - in Strip Products UK (Delivering our Future), Strip Products Mainland Europe (Sustainable Profit), and across the Downstream Operations - continue

to form the multi-year backbone for delivering targeted improvements.

“These plans, too, have much in common and all work towards building a sustainable business that generates enough profit and cash to invest in creating the products and services that our customers need,” Hans said.

“While our strategic discussions with thyssenkrupp continue, improving our performance is something we need to do in any scenario. The new Annual Plan provides clear guidance and sets realistic targets to take us to that next level.”

The year ahead will without a doubt bring new surprises, but Hans is confident that the new Annual Plan is robust and a further building block for the sustainable, all-weather company Tata Steel will need to become.

Results for the year that has just ended will be announced in June.

Europe increases tariffs on Chinese hot-rolled coil The European Commission (EC) has imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on Chinese hot-rolled coil.

These final duties are higher than the preliminary tariffs announced last October. Chinese exporters to the EU will now be hit by duties ranging from 18.1% to 35.9% (previously 13.2%22.6%).

In a statement the EC said that import volumes from China remained at a high level even though there was a decrease towards the end of last year.

The EC contributed this drop to the announcement of preliminary duties in October, saying this has had a “chilling effect” on imports. Without definitive anti-dumping duties, the EC said, the decrease in imports would likely be temporary. On average, Chinese steelmakers exported 100.000 tonnes of hot-rolled coil per month to the EU last year.

“We are happy to see that our efforts to have the preliminary duties revised upwards have been successful,” says Henrik Adam, Chief Commercial Officer.

“The project team and many other colleagues at Tata Steel has worked

Imports from China have decreased after preliminary import duties were imposed.

hard for many months on this case and these duties now send a clear signal that Europe is serious about tackling unfair trade. However, although we are seeing a drop in imports of Chinese hot-rolled coil, we need to be careful about cause and effect. Increased demand for steel in China is likely to have contributed more to a drop in exports than these European anti-

dumping duties. These duties are still not high enough to discourage determined dumpers.”

Global overcapacity remains unsustainably high, especially in China.

“What we’re seeing is that Chinese steel is now increasingly reaching the EU via third countries,” says Henrik. “Imports from Turkey, for example, have more than doubled compared to a year ago.”

In a separate case the EC was also investigating imports of hot-rolled coil from Brazil, Iran, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine.

The EC has decided not to impose preliminary duties, while it continues its investigation. “It is important that here too Europe sends a strong signal that it is willing to discourage unfair trade,” Henrik says.

OurTube

ISSUE 012 | April 2017

Coming together to meet Contiflo demand Employees from Oosterhout and Zwijndrecht have come together to make the most of an increase in demand for the added-value tube product, Contiflo®.

Kees den Boogert, Sales and Marketing said: “We have seen a sudden and welcome increase in demand for this specialist product, which is primarily used in heating and cooling systems, but also in the horticulture sector, for example.”

“As it is one of our differentiated products, it’s one we’d like to grow, so when the opportunity comes along we have to make the most of it.”

Although production volume exceeded Annual Plan by 25%, this was still insufficient to meet market demand.

The production was limited at Oosterhout due to the numbers

of experienced employees on the Contiflo lines. So in a demonstration of true teamwork, colleagues from Zwijndrecht went to Oosterhout to help out.

Hans van den Kieboom, Tubes NL Production Manager, Oosterhout said: “I am really impressed by the professionalism and the skills of the Zwijndrecht crews. Their experience on welding lines proved to be a good foundation, and they are quick learners. We are hugely grateful to them for their flexibility and their willingness to travel and learn new skills.“ Hossein Chouaati, Tubes NL Production Manager, Zwijndrecht said: “Increasing customer demands around certification will mean that we will need to keep developing the expertise of all of our employees.

We’ve already been building

The joint team with team members from Zwijndrecht and Oosterhout

people’s skills so they can work in different areas of the plant - this has taken that capability and flexibility one step further.

He concluded: “People have been very enthusiastic about the new experience and their new insight in the world of Contiflo, and they have been made to feel very welcome by their colleagues in Oosterhout.“

Good for strawberries, too!

One example of the applications of Contiflo is the horticulture sector, which includes the Forcas heating system for horticulture glasshouses. A new contract has been won to deliver 350t of powder-coated Contiflo and fitting products for a strawberry nursery glasshouse in the UK.

Message from Remco Blaauw, Operations Director Tubes Europe

Employees on top of safety Time out for Safety interventions have helped boost hazard awareness among employees, says 20” Mill Manager, Andrew Ward.

He said: “There was a very positive response from the recent TOFS sessions with some valuable suggestions for improving workplace safety. The 20” Mill has brought a Risk Review team together to review our Health & Safety documentation and procedures ensuring compliance, to engage employees and to develop a strategic direction for health and safety improvement.”

Andrew cites two recent examples of employees showing personal safety leadership. He said: “The first example was identification

of a trip hazard following some improvement work to the despatch storage gantries. The work had left a void on one side into which loaders had the risk of falling when inspecting and checking product.

This was rectified within one week of being raised.

“The second was a production employee who identified a fire risk from a leak near a burning operation for Product Test samples and took immediate action to remove the oil spill within the bund and report the leak in the powerpack for rectification.

“These maybe small actions, but they have the power to prevent more significant incidents.”

Hazard awareness among employees has improved following Time out for Safety sessions

Message from Karl Haider, Director Downstream Operations Let’s make the most of our opportunities Downstream Operations Director, Karl Haider looks back at the past year and sets out his ambitions for the next.

“As we move into a new financial year, I can’t help but reflect on the last 12 months - a year in which our company underwent so much turmoil, especially in the UK. And yet, our markets have finally started to improve which has significantly helped our financial result.

But I have mixed feelings about the year.

On one hand I feel very proud of our people, who have worked extremely hard to satisfy our customers, develop new products and services, and to overcome some difficult supply issues.

On the other hand, we haven’t helped ourselves with some operational stability issues.

And we all know that our safety performance has been far below where we would have wished it to be: 19 Lost Time Accidents so far tell us that too many people are getting hurt on our sites, which is simply unacceptable.

But time doesn’t stand still, and we still have to get through the pension issues in the UK and find the best new owner for the SAW mills in order to focus on our strip-based supply chains.

And we still face tariff issues - both for sales into North America and in pushing back cheap imports to Europe.

As we pause for breath and launch ourselves into the new financial year, demand and prices for our products look like they are likely to continue an upward trend.

So we must make the best of the opportunity while it lasts, with consistent and predictable supply of quality products. We must continue to add value through branding, product development, technical support, delivery accuracy, and lead times.

That means improving operational stability, working more closely through the supply chain, managing costs, and investing wisely.

But above all of that, we must keep our people safe. I want every single employee to take this as an individual challenge and take personal responsibility. The Time out for Safety sessions have proved very popular and very successful, but we know how easy it is to fall back into complacency, and to be distracted by operational issues. We must not allow ourselves to be distracted - there is nothing more important that you do every day than to keep each other safe. This year we will also focus on Process Safety as well, which will give us a much more rounded approach, and help

us understand some of the major risks that our processes pose to people’s safety.

So our challenge for the coming year may not sound very different, but it will define our success: keep our people safe, our customers delighted, our operations stable and our costs in control.

I sincerely thank each of you for your effort and commitment over the last 12 months, it has been one of our best years. I know it hasn’t been easy, but you have demonstrated what a great workforce we have - whatever challenges are thrown at us, we have the stamina, experience and motivation to overcome them. I look forward to working with you all again for a successful 17/18.”

First I must talk about safety. I have been many years in this company, as lots of you have. Our workplace is like a second home to us. Our colleagues become a second family to us. And we should treat them like our family when it comes to safety. Don’t be afraid to challenge them, don’t hesitate to stop something if you think it’s unsafe. Watch out for people around you, and trust that they’ll be looking out for you, too. We have reviewed local safety plans, and the actions will be implemented - no excuses.

Our friends in the Hartlepool SAW mills, who despite the uncertainty over the lengthy sale process, continue to show commitment and dedication, which I admire tremendously.

I cannot tell you when the search for a good new owner will be over, but I thank you for your continued motivation and professionalism.

A huge theme across all our sites, is how we are letting our customers down - the supply we are getting from the hubs is causing us enormous problems. I know how frustrated you are about this, especially those facing our customers. We are doing everything we can to work with the hubs, logistics and supply chain to resolve the issues. I can’t promise it will change overnight, but it must change, and soon.

Our customers become more demanding every year, especially at the moment on surface quality. We can help them, not only through some targeted investments, but more immediately with our own attention to detail and our daily procedures.

As I look forward, I see encouraging signs. Our 20” mill sales into the North American oil and gas sector are picking up, and sales of cold formed products at Corby are benefitting from great lead times. And in the Netherlands, I see teams working better together helping our Contiflo brand to grow in its markets, and to improve the overall flow of the cold formed tubes.

Our Annual Plan concentrates on increasing our differentiated products and services.

Investments will be part of that, however I believe our year will be defined more by how our people grasp the challenges and how we can work as joined up supply chains within the company.

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OurTube

ISSUE 012 | April 2017

Champion day for ‘Tube Champions’ Nothing’s gonna stop me now

Stewart Jones (Tata Steel Tubes, CTS - Field Engineer - Conveyance). Pipe Center Key account managers: Steve Everard, Daniel Ternent, Mark Phillips, Angus Barnes, Tony Harrison, Dean Littler

Key decision-makers from one of the UK’s leading suppliers of heating, pipe and industrial building services, now have a better understanding of Tube products following intensive onsite product training.

Dr Chris Owen, Manager CTS, Conveyance said: “If we can invest in helping our customers to become ‘Tube Champions’ through

an increased understanding our products, they will have more confidence to promote them to a wider audience, thereby opening up more opportunities for us in building and industrial services applications.”

During the training event at Corby, the customers visited both Hot and Cold Mills as well as finishing areas. They also benefitted from presentations, technical lectures and

case studies, which were presented by a range of functions.

Dan Ternent, National Key Accounts Manager, Pipe Center commented: “This was a really worthwhile event which has helped us to appreciate the benefits of the hot-finished Install Plus 235 and Inline 265 brands. We can now pass on such knowledge to our own customers.

On 23 April, Corby slitting line employee Sukhdip Singh Garcha will be taking part in the London Marathon to raise money for the Round Table Children’s Wish, a charity dedicated to granting handcrafted wishes for children and young people with life threatening illnesses.

But what is even more remarkable, is that only a few years ago, Sukhdip suffered a heart attack.

Sukhdip said: “I completed my first London marathon in 2009 and ran in support of Help the Hospices. Not only does running keep me fit and healthy, but with the generous support of friends, family and work colleagues, I can raise some money for charities that are desperately in need of support.

“However in 2013, I suffered a heart attack, so obviously was unable to train and run the marathon the following year.

But I recovered, and the doctors gave me a clean bill of health and said I was OK to keep running, so that’s what I did.”

To date, Sukhdip has raised more than £20,000 for charities and intends to keep doing so. He said: “If anyone would like to support my latest charity and help to grant special wishes to children with lifethreatening illnesses, they can do so via my JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/sukhdip-garcha

Positive attitude is key for safety In a recent visit to the Hartlepool 20” mill, Downstream Operations Director, Karl Haider was impressed not only by the good standards of housekeeping and workplace organisation, but by the general attitude of the team he met.

“Keeping each other safe is as much about people as it is about systems and processes”, he said.

“I spoke to many people across the site and saw a really positive perspective on safety - they have it top of mind and are actively conscious of hazards and behaviours.”

On his Safety Management Audit Tour (SMAT), Karl was accompanied

by Neil Kennedy, Production Operations Manager, and Site Manager, Andrew Ward. They met with Risk Review team to discuss progress of the site’s Health & Safety documentation and procedures.

Andrew added: “It was great to see the engagement between the

This charity works in partnership with all those involved in the life of the child including family members, carers and health professionals. They also provide support to friends and volunteers who

Taking time to talk safety

DSO Director, Karl Haider (left) talks to employees about staying safe in the workplace

team and the people involved in the tasks to ensure we minimise risks in our operations.

On the tour, Karl also reviewed the Man-Machine Interface developments, in which the site is

investing. The programme to install an integrated approach to guarding on the pipe/section forming processes, is due to be completed in summer this year.

Across every site in Downstream Operations, employees, managers and trade unions have been coming together to talk about safety. And with a worrying increase in the number of safety incidents being seen, it couldn’t have come at a better time, says Ian Russon, Safety, Health & Environment Manager.

“It’s difficult to know if people have become complacent, been distracted by all the issues in the company at the moment, or we’re not implementing processes properly, but across Tata Steel in Europe, we’re seeing safety incidents increasing we all have a responsibility to step in and do something about that.”

Sukhdip’s history of giving: l l l l l l

26 April 2009 ran for ‘Help the Hospices’ 25 April 2010 and 2011 ran for ‘Sense’ for deaf and blind people.

April 2013 ran for ‘Victa’ Visually Impaired Children taking action April 2015 ‘Khalsa Aid’ (disaster aid) April 2016 ‘Sikh Relief’ This April 2017 ‘Round Table Children’s Wish’

Corby employee Sukhdip Garcha is running his 7th London Marathon to raise funds for a Children’s wish charity

give time and money selflessly so they can continue to grant handcrafted wishes to children and young children with life-threatening illnesses.

A wish for a child facing these adversities can give a family the chance to just be without all of the trauma and stress associated with life-threatening illnesses. www.rtcw.org

Time out for Safety was launched across TSE last year, and employees have been getting involved in sessions to raise awareness, share examples of good and Ian Russon bad practice, and to commit to challenging poor practices.

“The response has been entirely positive” says Ian. “Our employees know that it is down to each one of us, not just safety reps or the safety department.”

“Safety is one of those topics we have to work hard on all the time; the consequences of a moment’s lack of concentration can be life-changing.”

Where did you get those specs?

Many major construction companies are now specifying only Tata Steel branded hot-finished tubes for use within their building services projects.

Stewart Jones, CTS Conveyance Field Engineer, explains: “As installers have tried to reduce costs over the years, we have seen an increase in the amount of cheap, imported pipework entering the UK building services supply chain.

“Unfortunately, such material is typically coldformed, of poor quality and is non-compliant to customer technical specifications, resulting in application failures or installation approval issues.

“Such issues have often resulted in installed pipework being stripped out, scrapped and replaced.

“This not only adds significant cost to the project and pushes out project milestones,

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but can also seriously damage the installer’s reputation.”

“The Customer Technical Services (CTS) Conveyance team continues to work closely with our key customers and end-users to highlight the risks of not specifying tubes correctly.

“By helping them to understand the correct tube specifications, and giving them confidence in the security of our supply chain, we are able to increase sales of our differentiated Install Plus 235 and Inline 265 hot-finished conveyance brands, within more and more construction projects.

“Our products are featuring in more and more high profile and prestigious projects such as University of Edinburgh Easter Bush, Salford University, St Andrews and Imperial College London.

“We have also seen companies such as James

The Innovation Centre and Easter Bush Campus Hub at Edinburgh University (Atkins)

Mercer, Vital Energi, Lockwood Technical, Boulting, A&B, Willows Mechanical and Interserve all now embedding hot-finished tubes within their project specifications.

“We’re looking forward to more exciting projects that include Battersea Power Station, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Manchester Airport Terminal 2.”

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ISSUE 012 | April 2017

SAW mills: Every opportunity will be pursued Tata Steel UK CEO, Bimlendra Jha, visited Hartlepool and undertook a Safety Management Audit Tour (SMAT) at the SAW Mills. He said: “I could see people here are very proud of their workplace and there is a high standard of housekeeping. I was also pleased to see good workplace organisation in the Mills which demonstrates to me the motivation and diligence of the workforce to keep good levels of performance for the customer, even in such difficult times.”

Bimlendra then met with representatives of the workforce for an open and honest discussion about the Tata Steel strategy, the future of the Mill, and progress with the sale. He reaffirmed Tata Steel’s strategy to operate as a strip-focused business and, as such, a platebased asset does not have synergies within the portfolio .

He said that Tata Steel remains committed to seek a responsible buyer offering a sustainable future: “I hope that people will see how we have managed the sales of Long Products and Speciality Steels, making sure that both

“I was pleased to see good workplace organisation, which demonstrates to me the motivation and diligence of the workforce.”

Global steel up

The total amount of crude steel produced globally in January 2017 was 136.5Mt, according to figures produced by the World Steel Association. This is up 7% over the same period one year previously, when the global total stood at 127.6Mt.

UK CEO Bimlendra Jha

businesses had the best chance of a good future under new owners. Every opportunity will be pursued.

“As with all mergers and acquisitions of this nature, it can be a long process, which I understand is unsettling for everyone concerned.”.

Andy Hill, Works manager added: “The important thing for us is to make sure the SAW mills perform to their best, and that is within our control. We must keep managing safety, quality, costs and service as well as we can - that is the best way of securing a sustainable future for the site.”

EU slaps on the duty

UK CEO Bimlendra Jha

The European Commission has imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of heavy plate from China. The duties are in the range of 65.1-73.7% depending on the company. The EC says these are the levels needed to eliminate the harm that the imports cause to EU plate producers.

Rising belief in price increases

Tubes ensures smooth finish for ski-lifts Urgent safety When ski-lift manufacturer Leitner identified some unusual surface features on their steel, the team at Tubes was quick to act.

“We supply Leitner with around 80% of their tubular requirements, including the safetycritical part that connects the cabin to the lifting mechanism,” said Jenny Thompson, Sales Lead for Tubes. “Leitner is one of only two European ski-lift manufacturers and we supply them via Bianco, our strategic channel partner in Europe and the largest customer of our premium Celsius product. Bianco offers Leitner a just-in-time delivery service around the world.”

Bianco and Leitner were invited to discuss the issue at the Tubes manufacturing site at Corby, where, thanks to a relatively recent cross-functional approach, the team was ready with a solution, described by Jenny Thompson: “We’ve committed to performing a more stringent ultrasonic test in production. This was particularly well-received by Leitner as they had already decided they would do this themselves - but now we will do the testing on site at no extra cost. “ Darren Currie, UK Technical Manager, explained how a new internal approach got this result: “In

recent months our customer-facing and internal manufacturing teams have been sitting together in a monthly review to look at customer complaints in detail and come up with robust solutions.

Customer Technical Service (CTS) sets the agenda and brings customers’ problems directly to the table.

The operations team apply their manufacturing expertise and together we challenge the solution to make sure it is valid before going back to the customer.

“In addressing the Leitner issue, we ran two extra reviews with the quality assurance and commercial teams. The solution we presented on the day was a great fit with the customer’s thinking, so they were very happy with our proposal.”

Bianco’s Purchasing Director Silvano Rossi told the team that Leitner had been very satisfied with the visit and were pleased with Tata Steel’s approach, which was confirmed by Leitner’s Head of Quality Matteo del Nero who said that Tata Steel tubes played an important role for his company.

“It’s a good example of the importance of being proactive in solving technical challenges,” said Darren.

reminder after fifth Indian fatality

Five recent fatalities across a number of Tata Steel’s sites in India are urgent reminders for everyone in the company that safety should always be everyone’s first and main priority.

The most recent case involved a fall in a molten zinc pot at a Tubes facility, despite controls and barriers placed to prevent such an accident.

Although the circumstances of the individual cases differ and investigations are ongoing, they follow a period of 14 months in which no fatalities occurred.

“This suggests that while the safety performance and safety culture across our sites in India was improving, we were never far away from a major accident,” says Paul Brooks, Group Director Health, Safety & Environment.

Paul is quick to point out that no one in Europe should believe that the potential for these terrible accidents is in some way restricted to India. “We cannot be complacent. I’d like people in Europe to reflect on this and whether or not in reality we are any different to India. Just because something happens thousands of miles away does not make it less relevant or less tragic.”

Safety performance across European sites has deteriorated since 2015. “Our safety journey in Europe is not complete,” says Paul. “Some of our near-misses, recordables and LTIs could in different circumstances have led to a tragic loss of a life or a significant life changing injury.

Tata Steel in Europe is fortunate to have not suffered a fatal accident since 2011, but the potential for such an occurrence remains if safety procedures are not followed. All of our safety rules and directions are useless unless they are acted upon.”

In his latest column on the topic of safety, Hans Fischer, CEO and CTO, Europe, said: “Returning to the positive safety trend is not about polishing up some statistic in a report: it is about real people, it is about you and your colleagues, your friends. If you are ever unsure about what to do in a particular safety situation, stop and ask for instructions.

“Nothing we do should ever jeopardise our personal safety. Never grow tired of repeating that to yourself and your colleagues.”

Red Stripe reports, compiled after serious safety incidents, including the recent Indian fatalities, are available through the Health & Safety pages on the intranet. “I would advise everyone to read these, learn and use them as potent reminders that safety procedures should always be followed, no matter what.”

Nearly two-thirds of respondents to Steel Index’s weekly survey of market sentiment believe that steel prices will increase in the next three months.

Globally, 62% of participants said they thought prices would rise, up from 52% in the previous week and 37% the week before that. A majority (56%) also foresee an increase in steel demand.

German steelworkers strike

German steelworkers are beginning a series of warning strikes in an effort to push employers to raise their offer in the current round of pay negotiations. The trade union IG Metall said the proposed increase of 1.3% for 15 months is below the rate of inflation and is “unacceptable and non-negotiable.”

Thyssenkrupp sells Brazilian slab plant

Thyssenkrupp has reached an agreement to sell its Brazilian slab plant, Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico (CSA), to Latin America’s largest steel company, Ternium.

The deal values CSA at €1.5 billion.

CSA will continue to supply 2 million tonnes per year of slabs to the ArcelorMittal/Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metals rolling mills in the USA.

Salzgitter profits up

German steelmaker Salzgitter increased its pre-tax profit to €53.2 million in 2016, a significant increase from 2015’s €4.1 million. However, difficult market conditions at the start of the year hampered sales in both its strip and plate divisions. The company says its improvement programmes have put it on an upward trend.

SSAB joins fossil-free Sweden

Swedish steelmaker SSAB has joined the Government’s initiative for a fossil-free Sweden, which has the aim of making Sweden the world’s first fossil fuel free country. SSAB has said it will now set out the concrete steps it is planning in order to move away from a dependence on coal.

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ISSUE 012 | April 2017

Responding to American restocking

Hartlepool 20” mill taking advantage of upturn in North American oil and gas industry

By maintaining good relationships with customers and distributors in the North American oil & gas pipeline markets, the Hartlepool 20” pipe mill is now taking advantage of a recent upturn in the market.

Andrew Ward, Site Manager said: “This is positive news for the Hartlepool 20” Mill and provides a platform for a stronger business performance in the coming financial year.”

Carol Hughes, Business Development Manager for the Energy & Power sector added: “For a number of months now there has been a steady increase in the number of drilling rigs in the USA and Canada. This increase in oil & gas activity has led to confidence in the market and we’re now seeing oil & gas companies increasing their investments following a lengthy period of declining spend. In particular, the US Distributors are now replenishing stock in anticipation of an increase in demand.”

She continued: “Working closely with our mill colleagues

we have been able to respond really well to our customers in North America, and this has helped us secure good volumes for the pipe mill.”

Andrew added: “The Hartlepool 20” Mill has seen a significant increase in order intake already this year, averaging over 5,000t of orders per week compared to less than 3,000tpw average in 2016. In addition we have secured two major orders for JD Fields to be manufactured between April and June.

“This additional activity takes our planned volumes for 2017/2018 from 166kt to 210kt, which requires 11-shift activity on the weld mill and a step up of pressure pipe in our cold finishing process to 10 shift operations until the end of July based on current bookings.

He concluded: “It is essential we now maximise this opportunity with strong and consistent manufacturing performances.”

Can we make it? Yes we can!

An innovative IT solution is helping the Tubes business quickly assess and capture profitable new orders, which previously would have either been lost or accepted and made at a loss.

Arjen Kamp, New Product Development manager, explains: “Our fragmented markets mean that we receive many hundreds of enquiries for non-standard products.

Historically it has taken a huge amount of time and effort to assess whether we could make these products at all, let alone profitably.

“That meant that we could reject a potentially profitable order, the customer would walk away because of the delay, or we would take on an order that lost us money.

A successful pilot took place last year, and at the beginning of 2017 the tool was rolled out in Tubes NL. This year it has been nominated for an Innovista innovation award.

Gerard van Hal from Group Information Services Europe, picks up the story: “We have developed an IT solution that we have named the Watson Makeability Tool, after IBM founder Thomas Watson. It uses data from 10 years of production and process history of Tubes NL orders and enables a Customer Technical Services employee to instantly assess the makeability of a Tubes product based on historical

The Watson Makeability Tool allows enquiries to be quickly assessed

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performance.

He continues: “If there is no direct match the tool will show the nearest equivalents, which allows us to advise on what would best fit the customer’s requirements.

Arjen adds: “Apart from the highly improved responsiveness and increased customer satisfaction, the tool gives insight into gaps between our current capabilities and what the market wants.

“We are also looking at potential additional functionalities such as cost information based on speed of work, and nonstructured data such as customer visit reports and machine learning to improve the decision quality.”

“The major benefits are that customers get a quicker response and Tata Steel only accepts orders it can fulfill profitably and in the right quality. The potential benefits could be significant for the whole organization. The next steps are to explore the tool, test and improve it and roll it out in other parts of the business.”

And Gerard sums up, as “The novel approach to develop an innovative tool within a very short period of time, the so called ‘agile way of working’ is new at Tata Steel. All this was done in a close cooperation between GIS, IBM, Cap Gemini, TCS in India and of course the Tubes experts in the business.”

A brush with industry Engineering students from Newcastle University are helping Tata Steel’s SAW mills to improve pipe welding processes as part of a “Design in Industry module” in their studies.

Mechanical Engineer Justin Cox explained: “The students were tasked with re-designing the tack-welder brush arrangement to improve the consistency of the earth contact. In this case it can occur when pipe passes from one pair of fixed position brushes to another.”

The students presented their final design to welding specialists from the operational and engineering teams who were so impressed that they are already moving to implement the proposed changes.

Justin added: “This is the second year that the SAW mills have worked

with Newcastle University to support this initiative whereby students have an opportunity to design a solution to a real life engineering problem.

Last year the student group designed the Adjustable Turn Rolls now used throughout the ID welders.”

Works Manager, Andy Hill explained “The project is part of the students’ ‘Design in Industry’ module whereby a number of companies are partnered with the University to provide opportunities for the students to apply their academic knowledge.

“It really is a win-win situation for all parties, the students gain invaluable practical experience in a unique manufacturing environment and the SAW Mill benefit from the latest technological advances.”

Newcastle University engineering students have helped improve the pipe welding process at Hartlepool

The ‘softer’ side of sales The Tubes Customer Technical Services team has been providing customers and fabricators with unrivalled technical support through an inhouse developed software system for assessing and recommending tubular joints.

Senior CTS Engineer Chris Morris said: “Supporting our supply chain in this way makes our tubes easier to use and encourages their use in future projects.”

One customer, Severfield in Northern Ireland has been working on the ‘Ferrybridge’ project in Northern Ireland.

The trussed frame ‘U’ footbridge is to be fabricated from Celsius 355NH produced at Corby and Hartlepool.

Chris explained: “The fabricator’s requirement for a 40mm gap between bracings and the section sizes and geometry caused the joints to be outside the Eurocode 3 joint parameters and they were struggling to make the joints work.

“The CTS structural team evaluated the joints and advised how best to assess the joints using our in-house developed tubular joint software to

quickly and accurately assess the joint strength.”

On another project, the team assisted David Dexter Associates, London with tubular joints on their Kuwait Museum Installation project. The query referred to the minimum gap or overlap for a Kor N- joint arrangement.

“The customer was confused as to why the joint had to have this minimum gap/overlap value in order for the joint to be suitable and safe. We again guided the customer using illustrations and advised how best to calculate the joints using our in-house software. With this advice, the joint was quickly and accurately evaluated and the customer was very appreciative that we were able to clearly explain how to deal with such a joint now and in future.”

Steve Whitfield, Manager Structural (Tubes), Customer Technical Services summed up: “Technically supporting regular consumers of our products in this way defines Celsius 355NH as the ultimate structural product and underlines our commitment to a comprehensive technical service.”

In-house developed software is helping customers assess tubular joints

OurTube

ISSUE 012 | April 2017

A big ‘PLUS’ attracting girls to engineering

Klöckner in profit

German steel distributor Klöckner returned to profit in 2016, after moving into sales of higher valueadded products. Although steel prices remained lower than average last year, Klöckner was able to benefit from price recoveries during the course of the year, which had a negative effect on sales but a positive one on earnings.

AM to make energy not steel

The world’s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal may set up a solar farm instead of a steelmaking plant on land allocated to it for a proposed steelworks in Karnataka, India. The company is exploring the alternative use for the land as a result of excess global steel capacity and issues in securing raw materials.

Nippon Steel named global innovator

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation has been recognised as one of the world’s top 100 innovators.

The company received the Top 100 Global Innovator Award for the fifth consecutive year. The award, sponsored by Clarivate Analytics, gives recognition to the world’s most innovative companies.

“It’s fantastic to be able to support such events, and see the enthusiasm and interest of youngsters seeing academic theories in practice.”

Voest to expand auto

Voestalpine is to expand the production capacity of its automotive component hot-forming plant in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, after securing an order worth €250 million from an auto manufacturer which it has declined to identify.

Dr Chris Owen, Manager, Customer Technical Services - Conveyance

East Midlands students have recently learned about the technical challenges of developing tubes for the 21st century as part of Loughborough University’s ‘Girls in Engineering’ day.

The event is to raise awareness of the career options within the field of Civil and Building Services Engineering, and to allow students to learn more about the type of roles available and the products they could be working with.

During the day, students spent time at BISPA (Building and Industrial Services Pipework Academy), a collaboration established between Tata Steel and its Tubes business and Loughborough University to promote the Tata Steel conveyance offering.

Dr Chris Owen, Manager, Customer Technical Services - Conveyance said: “These GCSE students have already chosen subjects that could lead them to a career in engineering, so clearly had an interest learning about steel products and engineering solutions. As a great example of engineering development, we spoke to them about Install® Plus 235 conveyance tube, where it’s used, and the benefits of hot-finished products over cold-formed imports.”

He continued: “Students and teachers had an interactive session with thermal imaging cameras looking at heat transfer and Install® Plus 235 tubes. They also took the opportunity to use Virtual Reality sets to explore Install® Plus 235 pipework systems within an application environment.

Summing up Chris said: “It’s fantastic to be able to support such events, and see the enthusiasm and interest of youngsters seeing academic theories in practice. There

It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm and interest of youngsters

PUZZLES SUDOKU

Ford cuts engine production

PIT YOUR WITS

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3 x 3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

Ford is to reduce the number of engines produced at its site in Bridgend, Wales, from 650,000 to around 125,000 a year by 2021. The site will replace the Sigma engine, which exported to EU and globally, with a new Dragon engine for Ford’s European operations only. Bridgend’s contract with Jaguar Land Rover is due to expire in 2020.

German construction up

German construction orders increased by 4.3% in December 2016 over the same month in the previous year. Over the full year of 2016, construction orders rose by 13% compared to 2015. Germany’s highest-ever rise in construction orders was 25% in October 2012 and its record lowest was -23% in February of 2005.

Virtual reality headsets helped students understand how pipework systems work

is currently a skills gap in the UK building services market, so the industry needs to attract the next generation of engineers.

“By showcasing the benefits of our products and the work we undertake, not only can we attract people to our industry, we are also increasing the understanding of people who may become the designers, specifiers or our customers in the future.”

Wind power merger

Turn to page 8 for the solution

German engineering company Siemens and Spain’s Gamesa are set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval to create the world’s biggest wind turbine maker. The companies announced the proposed deal last June, as part of a wave of consolidation in the wind turbine and wind power industry.

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OurTube

ISSUE 012 | April 2017

60 second interview New Sector Lead of Construction Structures, Alastair Aitken says that successful companies make it easy for customers to deal with them. Short lead times and transparent data interchange are as important as product development and technical services.

Where do you fit into the organisational structure?

I am obviously part of Henrik Adams’ Commercial function, but I am also ensuring I work with the Tubes operational, technical and finance functions to ensure we deliver our improvement plans. I tend to split my office between Corby and Oosterhout.

What is Construction Structures?

Of course it used to include the Long Products portfolio of beams and sections, but now, it is almost entirely Tube products, and covers a multitude of enduser applications.

Such as?

Our tubes are used in major construction projects such as industrial and retail buildings, stadia and airports. They also go into mechanical engineering (construction, mining, earthmoving equipment), oil & gas, and even street furniture (signposts, lighting columns, gantries, railings etc) and the farming sector (agricultural machinery, trailers, gates and fences. A wide and varied number of end users.

What are your key challenges?

“Where shall I start? One of our major challenges is that 95% of our products are sold to non-Tata Steel stockholders and processors, so our relationship with the end customer and specifier is usually an indirect one. Add to that the fact that there are very few large end-user buyers, so we have a hugely diverse supply chain, which we must try to influence with our differentiation and technical service.

Additionally, in almost all of the end user markets we serve, the tube part of the spend is relatively small, therefore we often struggle to get our voice heard in the early stages of design and specification. For example, tube only represents 10% of the steel spend within the building structure (majority are beams and columns) and similarly for the lifting and excavating manufacturers (majority is strip products).

So how do we overcome that?

For many years, we have worked alongside other parts of Tata Steel in joint product offerings, and built relationships with stockholders where we can go to customers together. We have some fantastic branded products, we are continuing to innovate and develop our technical service offering.

So what’s next?

Our direct customer - the stockholder - often focuses on two elements: how much does it cost, and how quickly can I have it. Given the cost of holding inventory and the price volatility short lead times are becoming increasingly important. In Corby we’re working on a ‘Make to Availability’ programme that can offer a two week lead time, compared to a standard four, and we’re trying to get that down to one week. If we can make that work consistently, we’ll roll it out to Hartlepool, Maastricht and Zwijndrecht.

We have to make it easy for people to deal with us.

“We’re also pushing forward with product developments, especially in our Hot formed products, where customers want higher tensile strength, improved service quality and tighter tolerances.

Meeting these end user demands creates a pull for our products via the stockholders.

“And we’re moving more and more to electronic interfaces with customers such as Electronic Data interchange (EDI), making transactions faster, more accurate and transparent.

So is there anything new on the horizon?

We need to push forward with our programme of innovation - we’re looking at hexagonal tubes for example in the Channel tunnel and developing our Contiflo product for the heating and ventilating sector. Ideas such as this can open up whole new avenues of business, so our market development teams along with technical and R&D have some exciting challenges ahead of them, and I can’t wait.

8

CORBY STEEL IS A WORK OF ART

Works manager Chris Western (right) with sculptor John Atken

Doctor in the house Learning is for life, not just your school days, according to Hartlepool SAW Mills works manager Andy Hill.

Andy has recently completed a research project into Organisational Turnaround and has been awarded a Doctorate for his work looking at how change in working practices could be sustained in order to achieve a business turnaround.

In the course of his studies, which were completed over eight years as a distance learner at Newcastle University (later

Newcastle Business School), Andy researched the causes of organisational decline and failure and appropriate turnaround strategies.

“I also had the opportunity to spend time studying modern-day working practices such as Lean, Six Sigma, Leagile and contemporary Human Resource Management policies.

“Having to complete my studies whilst in full time employment, whilst hard, brought benefits that full or part-time students may not have gained: I was able to practice,

An £80,000 sculpture using steel made in Corby has been installed at the town’s railway station in celebration of the area’s heritage.

A public vote was held to decide the design of the Sundew Sculpture, which was made by urban artist John Atkin, who has previously designed sculptures outside Alpha Court in Phoenix Parkway.

It features tensioned metal ropes that are said to be reminiscent of those used to hold up the Great Jib used during the iron ore quarrying process.

test and reiterate my hypotheses within the working environment.

Periods of study and reflection allowed me to refine theories and adapt practices in my own workplace.

Andy added: “The studies have helped me to broaden my thinking, develop tested theories, and given me greater conviction in the changes I have been trying to bring about. In today’s ever-changing world, such a perspective should prove invaluable.”

If you’re interested in taking up studies to develop your skills and knowledge, speak to your manager or HR business partner

Corby Works Manager, Chris Western, attended the unveiling of the sculpture.

He said: “Steel is, was and will continue to be a key part of Corby - that’s why it’s fantastic to see that locally-produced metal will be one of the first things people see when they arrive in our town.

“We work hard to consistently deliver high-quality products, and should all be very proud that the fruits of our labours have been chosen for such a high-profile public project.”

In order to come up with his design, Mr Atkin consulted with arts groups to get a feel for the town’s heritage.

Corby Council lead member for community Cllr John McGhee added: “What a great feeling it is to see this magnificent new sculpture firmly in place at the Corby Railway Station where it belongs, bringing just the amount of life and character to the station that it needed.”

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SUDOKU SOLUTION From page 7

SAW mills Works Manager Andy Hill says learning is for life