Tube & Pipe India Emagazine Feb-Mar Issue 2023

Union Budget 2023 Drives Tubes & Pipes Industry Towards India's Amrit Kaal

The company has its advent in the year 1992. The foundation of this enterprise was laid with a forethought of providing superior quality, reliability and achieving the highest standards of customer contentment. Backed bytheexperienceandtechnicalknowhowof over three decades by the promoters, 'ROLLCON' offers value in the field of processingofflatsteelproducts.

ENGINEERED TO BRANDED TECHNOLOGY

Take the best that exists and make it better “ ”

Pickling Lines

Tube Mills

Color Coating Lines

Cold Rolling Mills

Mr. Sunil Jain, Director and CEO of JIPL

Jindal Industries Private Limited (JIPL Hissar) is a pioneer in HR MS steel tube manufacturing in

India. Even as the group celebrates its hard-earned legacy, the need for constant growth and development is priority. It is probably the reason why the group remains relatable.

An industry expert with nearly 30 years of experience in Precision and Seamless Tube Industry Mr.Sunil Jain, Director and CEO of JIPL (Hissar), was kind enough to sit in a conversation with Tube & Pipe India and share with us the various plans of the group. While participating in government projects, setting up new warehouses, MoU with other company and product line expansion are among the various future plans of the group. The Greenfield Pipe & Tube plant in Ballari simply takes the spotlight. The project will not only provide a geographically strategic location to the group, but it will also expand its capacities by an additional 500,000 TPA in 2 phases. The HR steel Manufacturer JSW will be in close vicinity of the Tube plant.

Tube & Pipe India: Please tell us about your company's historyandmajorachievements.

Sunil Jain: I am extremely proud to be part of O. P. Jindal group.

The journey has been incredible in terms of contribution towards nation building since inception and we continue to do so today and will continue to do in future as well. Looking back Jindal Industries Private Limited Hissar (JIPL) was set up more than 50 years ago by a group of friends/relatives, one of them being Mr. O.P. Jindal. Initially, a bucket-manufacturing unit, the Hissar plant has since then reimagined itself twice, first into 2,000 TPM steel and strips manufacturing plant, and then into a steel tube manufacturing plant housing two mills. Today, the

plant taps into a production capacity of 35,000 TPM with the help of 11 mills spread across an area of 32 acres, which isararityintheIndiantubeandpipeindustry.

JIPL is a pioneer in ERW steel tubing solutions. Our adherencetoqualityisourbiggeststrength.Werecentlygot certified with BIS certifications IS9295 & for higher steel grades with YST310, YST355, etc. We started production of coated tubes for gas lines within the complex this year at Hissar.

TPI: Can you elaborate on your plant setup, capacity, and market distribution?

SJ: As I mentioned, at our Hissar plant, we house 11 mills and three slitters, which are equipped and upgraded with the best technology to work at high-speed production. The

Hissar plant's installed capacity is 450,000 TPA out of which our active production ranges from 380,000400,000TPA.

Currently, we are manufacturing pipes with a rolling range of up to 16 inches outside diameter. Our plant has been manufacturing API tubes, used for oil and petroleum applications,for10-12years.

In terms of customer base, we have grown from catering to Northern India to supplying products all over India. We also supply to government's programs. Last year, we contributed over 50,000 tonnes of pipes for Jal Jeevan Mission, in Rajasthan, UP, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Karnataka etc., and we expect to contribute similar capacitiesinthecurrentyearaswell.

With increased capacity from Ballari plant and JSW Tube plant at Jharsuguda we have plans to export directly from 2023-24bothblackandgalvanizedtubes.

TPI: What is your current product line and have you made any recent additions to it?

SJ: Our whole product line could be classified into three categories, based on sectoral applications. The black tubes are used for firefighting purposes, our pipes are among the top choices in the industry. Thereafter, we have GI tubes that are used for potable water-based applications which are again a preferred choice for quality conscious customers specially OEMs. Lastly, we have sectional tubing, which are used for structural applications in all types of infrastructure projects. Among the three, GI tubing applications are our strongest product and are wellrecognized in the market. Customers, commercial or retail,

specifically ask for our product due to immense trust in the quality. Other applications we cater to are tube well, rollers, fabrication,solarplants,polyhousesetc.

Recently, that is about six months ago, we widened our product range to include powder coating tubes as well, whichareusedfordoor-to-doorPNGtransmission.

TPI: Do you see structural tubing as having a future in India?

SJ: Structural tubing already enjoys a huge demand and application in the residential, industrial, and commercial sectors of the US, Europe and other nations. It is a rejoicing moment for India, as the market demand for structural tubing is increasing in the domestic market as well. Although the residential market is still shy of the applications, the commercial market, such as high-rise buildings, malls, etc., is all set to embrace the scope of the applications. This demand is also getting fuelled by government policies and programs, such as Jal Jeevan Mission, and PM Har Ghar Jal Yojna. Infrastructural projects, such as railways, metro projects, airports, expressway corridors, etc., will also help in demand boost. The demand for high strength material tubing will increase and also the size range will keep moving towards higher side for structural application as the designs evolve.

TPI: Can you share with us JIPL's future plans?

SJ: JIPL has a greenfield tube plant project pipelined, whose construction shall start in April 2023. The plant will be set up in Ballari, Karnataka and shall serve our existing and expanding customer base in the Southern region of the

Indian peninsula. The overall plant shall become operational in phases due to the sheer size of its operation, as we are aiming for a higher size range. Our targeted production capacity for Phase 1 is 250,000 TPA, which we will expand to 450,000 TPA in Phase 2. We also plan to set up a DFT mill for sections in Phase 2 after covering the round tube requirement of our existing customers in Phase 1inSouthernregion.

In addition to the plant, we shall be putting up warehouses in Jharsuguda and Pune in coming year, here we already haveourcompany'ssalesoffices.

JIPL is also venturing into the plastic tubes market, with the manufacturing of uPVC and CPVC tubes, albeit at a smallerscaleandlimitedregionintheyear2023-24.

We also recently signed an MoU with JSW Jharsuguda plant to manufacture MS tube. We are expecting to reach a volume of 100,000 tonnes in 2023-24. The speed has been very encouraging in last 3 months and helping us to capture marketsinotherregions.

We are looking for a manufacturing plant facility in Western region as well, which I feel we will conclude by Q1 2023-24.

TPI: What is the base idea behind setting up the Ballari plant?

SJ: In the tubes industry, transportation time and freight are major factors, for instance, long-distance freight charges are practically for transporting air, as the tubes are hollow structures. Hence, location is a huge factor and determinant in overall transportation and distribution costs. Our Hissar plant is already catering to Northern,

North-Western, Central, and Gujarat regions, and we wanted to replicate these services in the Southern and Easternregionsaswell,henceweplannedaprojecttosetup the Ballari plant. The other advantage is being close to the raw material where in JSW plant will be hardly 20-30 Km from this plant, which will also help us to save inward freight. We also plan to export from there as the plant will havelatesttechnologyandaveryproductivelayout.

The Ballari plant is part of our strategic plan to widen our presence and better our services across India. In terms of product, the plant will target higher volumes, more precision,andbettertolerancesinthepipediameters.

TPI: How will you comment on the Indian tube industry?

SJ: The industry is inherently turbulent, for instance, in a spanofmeretwoyearssteelprices(perKg)fellfromINR76 to INR 50 and jumped again to INR 60. Although the prices have revived many market players who could not cope with thepricepressurehavetoquit.

The demand continues to grow and new players continue to enter the market. I still feel there is enough for everyone as demand is also increasing and will continue to increase based on the fact that government policies and plans are towards modernization and improvement of human life acrossIndia.

The whole setup requires immense support and coordination among the suppliers, dealers, plant, and customers. JIPL feels blessed to have extremely supportive supplier partners, namely JSW Steel, SAIL and Tata.

Utkarsh India Aims at Fortifying Market Leadership for Plastic Pipes in Eastern India

Utkarsh India Limited is one of the experienced players in the polymer pipes market. As the global and domestic industry looks forward to a period of booming growth, challenges and competition are as inevitable as opportunities. It is in times like these that even seasoned players like Utkarsh India are up and front ensuring leadership and growth by the confluence of quality, pricing, innovation, and acceptance of modern techniques. As Mr. Utkarsh Bansal, Director of Utkarsh India, engages with Tube & Pipe India to discuss both industrial and organizational future, one could observe the attitude and planning it takes to become an industry leader. For instance, doubling the company revenue from the eastern Indian region to reach over INR 1,000 crore in the next four years.

Tube & Pipe India: Utkarsh enjoys pioneer status in the polymer pipes market. Please elaborate on your market position and the steps that you take to maintain your brand loyalty and market leadership.

Utkarsh Bansal: Utkarsh India is one of the leading brands for polymer pipes of various categories in eastern India with the highest brand recall amongst channel partners, influencers, contractors as well as the public at large. Whether in the agriculture, boring or plumbing segments, our range of PVC and HDPE pipes and fittings have become one of the most trusted and preferred brands. We have a network of over 5,000 channel

partners and over 20,000 influencers who are in touch with us on a regular basis. Utkarsh Polymer Division has a production capacity of more than 36,000TPA. We are the first to manufacture and introduce SWR pipes and fittings and UPVC leadfree pipes and fittings in the eastern region. We are the first to use Leak Proof Gold Seal in the SWR range of pipes and fittings. We are among the PHED-approved PVC Brands complying with various standards like ISO, EN, BIS, BS, DIN, TSEC, IS, ASTM d, SGS, OHSAS, etc.

To maintain our brand loyalty one of the foremost steps we undertake is to be one of the most quality-conscious brands in the market so that the market has an automatic sense of

Mr. Utkarsh Bansal, Director of Utkarsh India

trust when buying our product. We are one of the only fully automated plants for the production of plastic pipes and fittings in the eastern region which allows complete control over quality, process, and output. We also ensure our procurement only happens from the top suppliers in the world, that is from Japan, Thailand, etc. Moreover, we have a very active quality team who is hands-on with attending to any complaint that we may receive with immediate solutions so it gives both our customers and partners a sense of comfort at all times. We are constantly adding to our range of products with innovation to ensure that we have the most cutting-edge products that match the need of our market as well as the remotest requirement of our customers. We are also very active in terms of influencer marketing by doing more than five plumber meets per day across all our customers on average to ensure product awareness among our influencers and constant touch with the brand. We take their feedback as well to understand their issues and perception and make changes accordingly.

We also make sure that we maintain a very strong channel policy, with most of our partners having been with us for decades and growing with the company, which ensures that we have their loyalty at all times. We also have a dedicated team looking after approvals, certifications, project sales, etc. to ensure that any marketing support that is needed by our partners is always catered for. Moreover, we believe in complete transparency and accessibility so all of our channel partners and customers alike have access to all the people responsible for the brand and the product so that we can constantly adapt to the market feedback and solve any challenges we may face.

We are already doing more than INR 250 crore of sales of plastic pipes and fittings in the eastern region, and aim to grow this figure to about INR 500 crore within the next couple of years to further amplify our leadership position. Furthermore, we

are investing in new forms of marketing, such as digital marketing, for lead generation and connecting with new channel partners, tapping on all ends of the market catering to both rural and urban demand and to all applications of plastic pipes and fittings. We are determined to maintain the best balance of quality and price to ensure that our customers get top-quality products at the most competitive pricing as per the ethos and mission of the company.

TPI: Discuss your product portfolio along with its application areas.

UB: Utkarsh India Limited is an ISO 9001:2015 certified organization with an annual group turnover of INR 2,000 crores, and 40+ years of manufacturing experience in the infrastructural sector. Our group owns ultra-modern manufacturing units, consistent premium quality products, a pan-Indian robust distribution network, and an export setup to more than 35 countries.

Our polymer production unit located at Gurap, West Bengal is equipped with the best in manufacturing technology and backed with stringent quality control and checks. Utkarsh Polymer products meet national & international standards and specifications and are certified by plumbing governing bodies around the world.

Our Polymer Portfolio includes:

• CPVC Plumbing Pipes and Fittings

• uFLO UPVC lead-free Pipes and Fittings

• SWR Pipes and Fittings

• uPVC Column Pipes and accessories

• Agriculture Pressure Pipes and Fittings

• PVC well casing Screen Pipes

• HDPE Pipes

• PLB HDPE Duct

• Garden Pipe

TPI: Tell us about your Indian and International presence in this industry.

UB: We have a strong channel market in the eastern region with over 5,000 active dealers, channel partners, and retailers working with us for various markets. In the industrial segment, we have buyers on a pan-India basis from various sectors. Due to our presence in various infrastructural sectors such as roads and highways (via crash barriers), railway electrification (via OHE structures), urban development (via lighting poles and Highmasts), water transportation (via PVC, HDPE and steel pipes), power transportation and distribution (via steel tubular poles, transmission like towers) and telecom (via telecom towers) through our diversified product portfolio, we have become the brand of choice for

all these sectors on a pan-India basis. Utkarsh India Limited, a Government of India-recognized export house, has achieved the EEPC India award for export excellence for two consecutive years and has gained footholds in various countries, including Germany, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern island, Sri Lanka, UAE, and UK among others.

We have supplied major projects and agencies, such as NTPC, NALCO, PHED - Aizawl, Rajasthan & West Bengal, Tata Steel, ONGC, Hindustan Petroleum, L&T, Kalpataru Power, NHAI, BHEL, Coal India, SAIL, ESL, TISCO, Indian Railway, Power Grid, CESC, WBSEDCL, ESL, and DMC Corp.

TPI: What are your future shortterm and long-term goals to serve the plastic pipes industry?

UB: Our short-term plan is to become the market leader for all kinds of plastic pipes and fittings in the eastern India market. We understand this market very well and our brand has high visibility and recall here, so we would like to further strengthen that. Within the next two years, we are aiming for plastic pipe revenues of over INR 500 crores from the eastern market and over INR 1,000 crores within the next four years from eastern and surrounding markets. For this, we have planned a network of over 10,000 retailers and channel partners across the eastern market in 2 years with a clear presence in every district across Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, the northeast, Orissa, and Chattisgarh. This is in line with the company's target of becoming an INR 5,000 crores revenue company within the next three to four years.

TPI: PVC pipes & fittings market is expected to experience a big boom in the near future. Kindly shed some light on this statement highlighting the significant areas of growth.

UB: Despite being the third largest selling plastic commodity after polyethylene & polypropylene, the PVC pipes & fittings market is

expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.2 percent to reach USD 6,224 million by 2023. The Indian plastic pipe industry has a bright future with increasing application demand in areas such as potable water supply, wastewater supply, electrical and telecommunication cable protection, agriculture, chemicals, and oil and gas.

Government policies are also major contributors. The Jal Jeevan Mission scheme in every state has added to the demand for plastic pipes (specifically PE pipes) in India, creating a further boom in this category. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and other housing schemes have also ramped up residential and construction needs which has automatically also amplified the need for plastic pipes in the market.

TPI: What message would you like to float about the future of polymer pipes to the industry?

UB: The polymer pipes industry in India is booming, especially in the building products and agricultural application segments. It will continue to boom for years to come as India has huge potential for housing and construction and we have only touched the tip of the iceberg. At the same time, India will continue to be an agricultural economy with a constant need for the agricultural

sector. Moreover, with water transportation at its peak via the Jal Jeevan mission, this is the golden period for the industry. The current market is of consolidation and the customer becoming more and more quality and brand conscious. A product that is the best in the market will continue to stand out and take market share from the others that are providing subpar offerings, and we, at Utkarsh, believe that we will be able to capitalize on this to make sure we're the leading player in the market

TPI: What is your outlook toward the role of exhibitions and fairs in the growth of the industry?

UB: Exhibitions and fairs in this industry, just like any industry, tend to be extremely important as they help us connect with the end customers, especially the decision makers as they provide a platform for them to come and see all offerings in one arena. Moreover, they provide an opportunity for the project and actual user sales to meet a variety of consultants, contractors, infrastructure customers, and government agencies. Additionally, they provide an opportunity to showcase the quality and new innovations in our products to various key people, which is otherwise a difficult and lengthy procedure.

Grow Ever Steel: Offering Customer Oriented Precision Steel Tubes Solutions

Grow Ever Steel (India) Private Limited, an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, specializes in manufacturing of ERW MS Precision Steel Tubes, Hollow Sections (RHS, SHS, Oval & Capsule), Stamped and Tubular Components. Set up in 2008, the state-of-the-art factories are located in Falta, West Bengal. With a current capacity of 30,000 MTPA, their exclusive made to order mills include additional features such as air cooling for better weld quality and solid-state welders giving their products the extra edge in the market. In a recent interview with Tube and Pipe India,

Mr. Rajat Sarawgi, Managing Director, Grow Ever Steel (India) Private Limited shared with us the company's business journey, market footprint, clientele and future plans.

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of the business journey of your company since inception along with its crucial milestones?

Rajat Sarawgi: 2008 was a year of great significance not only nationally, but globally. While on one hand, the industry was battling the downturn in the market caused duetothedownfallofLehmanBrothersanditsaftereffects, ontheotherhand,peoplestartedtolookatIndiaastheland of opportunity and the next big thing in manufacturing.

Mr. Rajat Sarawgi, Managing Director, Grow Ever Steel (India) Private Limited

Grow Ever Steel was established the same year to carve a nicheinthealreadycompetitiveprecisiontubeindustry. ItstartedasanideaonpaperonceweidentifiedtheLacunain this industry segment for a time committed & quality conscious manufacturer for predominantly the OEMs. Initially offering a very limited product offering, Grow Ever has consistently grown over the last few years in scale and in scope overcoming various hurdles while being adaptive to the market changes and demands of the industry. We believe

that today we are one of the preferred choices of partner to majorOEMsnotonlyinIndiabutacrosstheglobe.

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, and machinery installed at your factory.

RS: While we began with humble beginnings 15 years back, Grow Ever now boasts of a dedicated team of over 500 people who are equally committed to the growth of the organisation. Currently we have 3 manufacturing units

providing the best available infrastructure and superior technology for producing MS ERW Precision Steel Tubes, RHS, SHS, Oval and Capsule sections as well as a wide varietyofTubular&StampedComponents.

Our 4th unit is expected to be commissioned in January 2024.

The installed capacity is over 30,000 MTPA for precision tubes. We also offer additional value products like cut to length sizes to our partner companies which makes it easier forthemtousethetubesalmostimmediatelyonreceiptand as per time bound schedules. Complete inline fin cutting along with Non Destructive Testing for the higher quality consciouscustomerisalsoavailable.

We have set-up a state-of-the-art facility offering a wide variety of precision components made on multiple machines like Automatic and Laser Cutters, Chamfering and De-brushing, Hydraulic Presses, CNC Turning Centres,Threading&TappingEquipmentsandotherSPMs amongstothers.

With technology imported from Germany, USA, Taiwan as well as the best manufacturers within India to support the Make in India campaign, we genuinely believe that only the best of equipment offer the best of products and thus invest heavily on latest and advanced machinery.

Our Marketing teams operate from Pune, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Indore and Delhi. They work in tandem with the corporate office located in Kolkata in providing round the clockservicestoourclients.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths and applications.

RS: Our Tubes are offered in the range of OD 8 mm to OD 80 mm and a thickness range of 0.25 mm to 4.5 mm and we use only Prime Quality Raw Material in grades like CRCA, CRFH, CRMA, HSLA, HRPO, HRSPO and many more, sourced from all major RM manufacturers across the country.

We take pride in knowing that our products find place in numerous applications in a wide gamut of industries as givenbelow:

● Automotive

● Bicycle

● Construction

● Electrical

● FMCD

● Furniture/Fitness

● LightEngineering

● Medical

● Power

● Umbrella

TPI: What are the recent developments at your end? Also, what will be your future plans?

RS: We have recently installed a High Speed Line for manufacturing tubes at a speed of over 150 mpm. An advanced R&D lab has been set up to analyse requirements of other industries not previously catered to by us. Multiple CNCs and SPMs have been installed in our component division to give our partners the option of Value Added Components from under the same roof of the Grow Ever Group. This is in line with Our Motto of 'We All Together – Grow For Ever'.

In the near future we plan to set up an annealing unit to cater to the growing demands of our export division and also further strengthen our existing portfolio by understandingandworkingcloselywithourclientsontheir consistentlyevolvingrequirements.

Wewouldliketoaddherethatwearealsoonthelookoutfor exploring possible growth opportunities with interested companies and being their partners in progress. The companies must share value systems similar to ours i.e. hardwork,honestyandbeinghungryforsuccess.

TPI: Share your outlook on the tube and pipe industry. How do you see the market evolving in the future?

RS: According to a market research report by Industry ARC, the global Precision Tube market size was valued at $17.8 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $26.3 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period. The report also notes that the demand for these tubes is driven by the growing demand for lightweight and fuel-efficient vehicles, increasing construction activities andtheadoptionofautomationinmultipleindustries.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also had an impact on the industry. According to a report by ResearchAndMarkets, the global steel tube market declined by 4.4% in 2020 due to disruptions caused in supply chains and manufacturing operations. However, the market posted a strong recovery in2021andhascontinuedtogrowsincethen.

In short, the industry is definitely on its way to recovery fromthe post pandemic aftereffects andthe overalloutlook appears positive in the next few years backed by strong demandandhigherconsumptionpatterns.

TPI: What is your technology and business roadmap?

RS: At Grow Ever, we place our bets on the best of technology and all machines have been made keeping our customers quality processes in mind. The above mentionedR&Dfacilityhasbeensetuptokeepabreastwith the fast changing parameters across all departments and adapt faster to offer the best solutions to our business partners.

We sincerely believe that honesty towards our work will always give us the desired results and our aim is to keep building to our strengths and keep growing – slowly but steadilyaswehavebeendoingsinceInception.

Global Seamless: Home to Supreme Quality Tubes & Pipes

Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes

Pvt. Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of Hot Finish and Cold Drawn Carbon Steel Seamless Tubes with an installed output capacity of 24,000 Metric Tons per annum. Located in West Bengal, the company has advanced MPM continuous rolling mill and other state-of-the-art equipment. In an Interview with Tube & Pipe India, Mr. A.R. Biswas, President, Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes Pvt. Ltd. shares interesting details about the infrastructure and machines.

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of your company along with its journey and vision?

A.R. Biswas: Global Seamless was established in 2019. Although it has been a journey of just three and a half years, ourleadershipteamcomprisesseasonedtechnocratswitha combined average industry experience of 36 years. The deep domain knowledge of the seamless tubes and pipes industry has helped us become one of the most notable mechanical seamless tube manufacturers and that is the reasonwewereabletocommissionourplantinashortspan oftime.

Our seamless pipe factory in Bagnan is spread over 3,00,000 square feet. Having such a big factory space gives us the distinct advantage of having hot-finished, hot-

Mr. A.R. Biswas, President, Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes Pvt. Ltd.

pierced, and cold-drawn industrial seamless tubes and pipes-making processes integrated into the same unit.

GSTP (HFS) Pvt. Ltd. for the hot finishing process and Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes Pvt. Ltd dedicated to cold finishing process are located in the same compound and have a combined yearly capacity of over 24000 MT. Our corporate office is in Salt Lake, Kolkata. Our vision is to produce internationally-acclaimed seamless steel pipes and tubes, from the best raw material, world-class technology,andscientificmanagement.

TPI: Please cast some light on infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities and machinery.

ARB: We carry out the entire process from planning to executionstageswithprecision.InourHFSplant,wehavea furnace with a capacity of eight tonnes per hour. We boast the most advanced MPM continuous rolling mill and other state-of-the-art equipment like bright annealing furnace, cold rolling mill, elongtor-sizing continuous hot rolling mill, cold-drawing machine, eddy current, and ultrasonic testing NDT machines, fully automatic hydrostatic tester, draw benches, and tube processing equipment. Such a wide variety of equipment allows us to produce marine pipes, line pipes, mechanical and automobile pipes, machining tubes, high-pressure boiler tubes, high-strength oil pipelines, and petroleum machinery parts. We produce everything in-house and we have got a very good laboratory withtestingequipmentfromJapan.

TPI: Tell us about your portfolio along with its applications.

ARB: Our main product is the seamless steel pipes, covering nearly all the sizes of small diameter seamless

steel tubes like OD 10mm - 168.3mm, WT 0.89mm - 14mm. in CDS tubing, and OD 26.7mm – 88.9mm, WT 3mm –15mm, in HFS pipes. We cater to a maximum length of 12.8 meters. We produce casing pipe, drill pipe and petroleum cracking tubes. Besides round tubes, we also manufacture square and rectangular tubes. Our tubes are used in myriad industries like mining, oil & gas transportation, automobiles, cranes, hydraulics, boilers, power plant, cooling tower, nuclear power stations, chemicals, etc. Pipe & joints for air brakes for freight & coaching stock of Indian Railways are our other key products. Recently, we have started manufacturing recessed pipes. Global Seamless develops GB, JIS, ASTM, DIN and other specifications & standards and is ready for immediate execution as per customization.

TPI: What are the key strengths of the company that helps you stay ahead of your competitors?

ARB: At all stages from raw materials to finished products, Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes are produced under an integrated system using the most advanced equipment, with rigid quality control exercised at each process. Our tubes & pipes come in surface finishes that exactly meet customer requirements or match the specifications for the intended applications. Inherently excellent properties are further enhanced by advanced heat-treating technology to offer a smooth, pleasing surface texture. To meet increasingly severe standards for dimensional accuracy, we exercise extra care in producing and inspecting pipe and tubes to particularly rigid dimensional tolerances. We make sure that the products we deliver exhibit consistent and uniform strength, workability and durability.

TPI: Please share some light on the market condition and market footprint of your company.

ARB: There has been a COVID-driven recession in the market; however, we don't face much competition as far as pressure tubing is concerned as such tubes are not manufactured much in India and the USA. However, the pricesofrawmaterialsaregoingupwhichisachallenge.

We manufacture our products for domestic as well as international markets. Around 50% of our products are exported. We have a good presence in North America and South America. We export our products to countries like

Mexico and Brazil. In Europe, we have a footprint in Italy, GermanyandPoland.

TPI: Share your outlook on the tube and pipe industry along with your expansion plans.

ARB: For transmitting anything in high pressure, you need seamless pipes. Hence, there is a huge opportunity for seamless pipes in India. As far as our expansion plans are concerned, we have plans to expand our capacity from 6-inch pipes to 8-inch and 10-inch pipes. There is a huge market in the tube industry and we want to explore that.

with the

An upcoming media company, Tulip 3P Media brings out publications for different B2B verticals. Theactivitiesofthecompanynowembraceeventsandmarketresearchaswell.Tulipiscurrently on its way to further expanding its publication portfolio through publications for other business verticalsandarichofferingofothernichemediaservices.

First Tube & Pipe Fair in Delhi to Help Polarise the Industrial Growth Phase

Tube & Pipe Fair's first edition, to be held from 6th to 8th October 2023, will assist the global tubes and pipes industry in harnessing the benefits from a period of growth, development, achievements, andsky-rocketingreturns.

As per various market research reports, the global tubes and pipes industry has been thriving since 2017. Although Covid-19 threw a setback on the industry's upward growth in 2019-2020, the recovery and bounce backhavebeen phenomenal.Thebest news forthe industry is that irrespective of forming material of tubes & pipes, the products have managed to find a wide market demand and presence. For instance, even while steel pipes and tubes gain appraisal of the global industrial market, the PVC pipes and tubes industry has been sized at USD 76.5 billion in 2021, with a recorded average CAGR of 10 percent over theFY16-FY21period.

Among all these trends, India is appropriately placed to

reap the best of benefits as it took the world's second or third-largest market position in the FY17-FY22 period. It is among the top five countries whose market share combines tobe49percentoftheglobalindustry.

These facts however now belong to the pages of history, and the bright future of the tubes and pipes industry demandsourattentionnow.

A YOY CAGR of 5.4 percent is predicted for the global steel tubes and pipes industry for the FY22-FY32 period, meanwhile, for the plastic tubes and pipes industry this CAGR is expected to range between 11-14 percent. The overall market size of USD 225.5 billion is predicted for the steel tubes and pipes industry in 2032 and USD 129 billion for the PVC tubes and pipes industry in 2030. In the Indian

n Tulip 3P Media is organizing the first edition of Tube & Pipe Fair from 6-8 October 2023.

n B2B exhibition brings together technology providers, manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of the tubes and pipes industry.

n Exhibition to help polarize the forecasted CAGR of 5.4% for steel tubes & pipes and 11-14% for plastic tubes & pipes during the FY22-FY32 period and Union Budget 2023 announcements.

n USD 225.5 billion global market size for steel tubes & pipes is expected by FY32.

n India holds the second largest share of global industry and is among the top five markets which together account for 49 percent of the global market.

FAIR

Glimpse of Cable & Wire Fair 2022

context, Mrs. Nirmala Sithraman, Union Finance Minister, unveiledherFY23-24budget forIndiaonFebruary1,2023, and many of her announcements conform to India's potential to harness these predictions of growth and benefits.

UnionBudgetFY23-24Highlights

● Increase in capital expenditure by 33 percent, quantitativelyINR10lakhcrore.

● AdditionalfundsofINR69,684corestowardsJalJeevan Mission for the supply of piped water to every Indian household

● Increasing the outlay for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by 66 percent, quantitatively INR 79,000 crore towards thehousingsector

● 27 percent capital expenditure growth in the oil and gas sector, quantitatively over INR 100,000 crores, of overall expenditure as announced by State-owned Oil Companies

All these announcements mean an increase in demand for tubes and pipes, in all types of forming materials, such as steel, iron, plastic, zinc, aluminum, etc., for application in varying industries, including Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals, Power and Water Supply, Construction, Automotive and Transportation, Sanitation, Agricultural Irrigation, Process Plants, and Mechanical Engineering Units.

Tube & Pipe Fair (TPF) is going to be a highly focused B2B exhibition in New Delhi, alongside an established exhibition – Cable & Wire Fair 2023, with over 300 exhibitors participating in the fair. The event shall be organized in the designated halls at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, Delhi, on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of October 2023.

Tube, Pipe, Profile Manufacturing Machinery; Tube, Pipe, Profile Processing Technology; Steel Processing Technology; Auxiliary Tools & Equipment; Measuring, Control, and Testing; Materials and Consumables; Specialist Areas; Rebuilt and Reconditioned Machinery; Steel and other forming Metals; Plastics and Composites; Tube, Pipe, Profile Manufacturers and Traders; Fittings,

Fasteners, Pump, and Valve, etc. over an area of over 1,50,000squarefeet.

TPF 2023 will be a one-stop showcase platform allowing the exhibitors to directly communicate with various industry players, from suppliers to customers, and reap the benefits of the convergence of established industrial giants, global companies, and start-ups. Exhibitors will have a chancetobuildbrandawareness,advertisetoawidepoolof industry players, and build a network of cordial relations, business deals, and joint ventures. Fair competition is the lifelineofanyindustry,andTPFgivesalltheparticipantsan equal chance to harness growth opportunities with the only limitbeingtheirimagination.TPF2023willtakeathematic approach to showcase all the products, technologies, successful R&D, and possible innovations impending in the industry'sgrowth.

Our visitors can expect to find all the latest products and technologies, state-of-the-art machinery, equipment, applications, and developments in the global tubes and pipes industry. You will also find information about new applications related to the industry among user segments, and about developments and the best practices in analysis, design, and construction methodology pertaining to tube and metal fabrication. As you walk the aisles of TPF 2023, you will gain a deeper understanding of the global manufacturing industry and attain know-how of the innovationstakingplace.

AboutOrganizers

TPF 2023 will be organized by Tulip 3P Media Private Limited and backed by Tube & Pipe India (TPI). TPI is a bimonthly magazine publication aimed at disseminating information about all that is happening in the dynamic and evolving tube and pipe industry. Tulip 3P Media Private Limited, established in 2006, is one of the leading media groups widely acknowledged for industry-oriented publications for different B2B verticals, aimed at furnishing the latest news, opinions, market outlooks, and trends. Apart from publishing leading journals like Paper Mart, Wire & Cable India, Mommy & Baby Times, and Tube & Pipe India, the group also serves various industries through exhibitions, conferences, market research, online portals,andseminars.

CML International: No Mandrel Tube Bending Machines

Founded in 1973, CML International S.p.A. started out as an Italian manufacturer of small push-type benders and their line of business includes developing and patenting portable tube bending machines. During an interaction with Tube & Pipe India, Mr. Michael Simonelli –Area Manager, CML International S.p.A., shares the company's journey, their smart factory infrastructure, innovative nomandrel machines, industry trends and the company's future plans in India.

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give a brief outline of the business journey of your company, along with its crucial milestones?

Michael Simonelli: Our Company was established almost 50 years ago. It started with a simple machine that was used for bending small copper tubes for kitchens and baths. Our products have now evolved into a market that currently serve automotive, ship building, petrochemicals, oil & gas industries. From the small handheld machine for half inch copper tubes in 1974, we're now bending 8-inch pipes with our fully automatic CNC solutions. So the company has grown considerably in the last few years. In 2018 we purchased a company called Pedrazzoli, who have been in business for 75 years. They were the company that invented the first circular saws in the 1950's, which has a unique feature that clamps and cuts

Mr. Michael Simonelli – Area Manager, CML International S.p.A.

with a singular motion. From that unique saw, they came up with the first Left/Right-handed bender in 1963. CMLGroup of companies have a combined experience of 125 years, offering metal forming/cutting products, from simple manual solutions for metal working shops, to automatic HD shipbuilding and high-end production cells, we are the leaders in the industry for the cold deformation of metals.

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the infrastructure and machinery installed at your facility.

MS: Our facility is a true Smart Factory 4.0 company having approximately 20,000 sq. meters of building, with over 90 machine tools, that are connected via CAD-CAM to our production department. Our technical office is also online with production, which sends/monitors the drawings directly to our machines. That's where we passionately produce everything, with pride, in our Italian factory near Rome. Regarding our commercial network, we have over 200 partners in almost 80 countries across the globe. We also have branch offices in the United States, South Korea, France, Germany, Singapore and even Russia. However, they're only distributors, all the machines are made in our office in south-central Italy. Even for our Pedrazzoli products, we manufacture the parts for the machine down in Southern Italy, and then send the finished parts up North to our factory in Bassano Del Grappa, where the machines are completed and tested. From there, the machines are dispatched to their respective destinations.

TPI: Could you tell us about the manufacturing capabilities of the company?

MS: For small machines, we sell about 100 machines a month. They are fast moving machines and sell at about 8000-10,000 Euros. As far as the large CNC machines go,

the smallest CNC machine we make (the 65-76 size) is manufactured at 2 to 3 machines a month. Larger machines, like the 6-inch gas and up, that is 1 or 2 machines a month. These “mandrel bending machines” have been around since the 1950's, and we've made numerous contributions to this technology such as our patented overhead clamping system and monobloc tunnel design, but what we're known for is our “non-mandrel machines”. That is where we truly shine. The unique aspect of our nomandrel machines is its simplicity. We don't need a mandrel or complicated mechanical systems that require qualified machine operators. With our easy to operate no mandrel benders, simply position a tube to the machine, step on the pedal, and make great looking bends. Not only great looking but performing. Ercolina leads the industry with tight radius bends that have very low ovality, and reduced wall thinning, even with thin wall tubes. And that's wherewe'remostpopular.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths.

MS: We started off with a small handheld push bender which grew into our first no-mandrel machine. These machines do not require a mandrel, all thanks to the special geometry of our tooling that we are able to make small radius bends even with thin wall tubes. They look great and perform great, we make sure to maintain the wall thickness sothatwedon'tlosepressurecapacity.Whenyoubendwith a mandrel, you are stretching the material, thinning the wall and creating a rupture point in the system. Whereas, with our no-mandrel solution we maintain the wall thickness and a good ovality, which is important for the flow of the material. This is because if we have a flat bend, besides the fact that aesthetically it does not look nice, it also performs poorly because that flatness is a restriction in the flow. So with these solutions, we are ASME B36

First Saws from the 50's

First L/R Handed Mandrel Bender

compliant, with wall thinning and flow regulations. The cost of the machine (with tooling) is equal to just the cost of tooling for a CNC machine. Again, very competitive products as it's very economical, simple to use and performsverywell.

TPI: What are the company's plans for the Indian market?

MS: Our future plan is to be more active and pertinent with the tube and pipe industry of India. I was recently asked by CML owner why we are not doing more business with BEM (Big Emerging Market) country like India. After some research, I learnt about the Quad coalition, which states thatJapan,UnitedStatesandAustraliaintendtoshiftsome production to India, diversifying the supply chain instead of depending much on China after the supply chain crisis. I went to Bangalore and Chennai with my Indian partner Sajith of ADM Solutions Pvt and talked to some of our customers who are tier-one automotive suppliers that confirm the automotive industry is gearing up in India and OEM's are suggesting their suppliers to organize accordingly. From that visit, I am about to close on two large CNC machines of our company's existing customers who have our smaller machines and are upgrading their productive capacity. So, immediate plans pertinent to India are to increase the market's knowledge of our solutions, then our involvement with hopefully our sixth branch office. Because I believe the best way to get into large companies of the market is through a direct chain to the mainoffice.

TPI: Please shed some light on the market footprint and the clientele of your company.

MS: Our machines are well dispersed around the world. We have 200 dealers in 80 countries around the world. In the Middle East, we've been exhibiting at the SteelFab expo in Sharjah for years, this is the 7th edition we have participated in, the first with our new partner PassTech who serves the entire G.C.C. From Nuuk Greenland in the Artic, to Nouméa Nuova Caledonia in the South Pacific, I've literally sold our fabrication solutions all over the world. In particular,IremembertheAirGreenlandprojecttomaking parts for their helicopters and airplanes with one of our mandrel machines. Though the capital of Greenland, Nuuk is a very isolated area surrounded with ice having only 14 kilometers of road, but not the most desolate home of an Ercolina,weevenhaveonerunninginAntarctica!

TPI: Please share your insights on the ongoing and future trends in the tubes and pipes industry.

MS: With new technologies, snap-together systems have been created. For example, now when you go to an airport and see handrails, they are assembled parts, not fabricated. There are bends at pre-bent angles that can snap together with a piece of tube to make a handrail. Due to this we are losing a bit of the stainless handrail market. However, we provide solutions to industrial manufacturers and work especially well with petrochemical, shipyards, oil & gas, etc. These sectors don't only look for aesthetics, but also for performance. When you cold bend, you not only eliminate welding, you also avoid heat treatment to normalize the welding zone;thatbecomes morebrittleduringthewelding process, x-rays to check and control if there are any holes in the wall, as well as other things like pressure test. Once the QC of the part has been made, then the process of grinding, cleaning, and polishing of the part are to be done afterwards. It is expensive to cut and weld. As you see, when you bend you not only make the component stronger and quicker, it also saves on the considerable costs involved with welding. People do not necessarily consider all aspects involved in part fabrication, that is why our products are very demo oriented. People understand and appreciate the value in it when they see it, therefore I hope you come visit us at the Tube & Pipe Fair in New Delhi this October. I'll be looking forward to discussing your fabrication requirementswithyou!

Current Pedrazzoli CNC Tube Bender

Current Pedrazzoli Cold Saw

Current Ercolina CNC Tube Bender

Current Ercolina No-Mandrel Bender

Prime Gold: Pioneers of StainlessSteel Pipes in India

Prime Gold S.S. Pipes has been working since 2004 to provide hygienic and longlasting steel pipes alternative to galvanized iron, copper, and plastic pipes in India. While their strengths have earned them reputed and lasting deals with the Indian government, renewable energy sector, food and beverages industry, and hospitals and pharmaceutical sector, the journey is still long and challenging, especially with the presence of numerous plastic pipe manufacturers and European and Chinese imports. Mr. Nimit Varshney, Vice President of Prime Gold Group, connected with Tube & Pipe India, to share all about the company's challenges, achievements, product supremacy, and future plans.

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of your business journey and crucial milestones?

Nimit Varshney: Prime Gold Group initiated its S.S. Pipes vertical in 2004 with a vision and foresight of bringing the world a strong and secure living. We started manufacturing stainless steel plumbing pipes about 20 years ago and are one of the pioneers in the Indian pipe industry. Earlier zinc galvanized iron pipes used to be threaded for plumbing applications, which due to the rusting process would deteriorate causing leakage and seepage to destroy the plumbing network of the building or infrastructure. We are among the first manufacturers of stainless steel pipes in India.

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, and machinery installed at your facility.

Mr. Nimit Varshney, Vice President of Prime Gold Group

NV: Prime Gold S.S. pipes are manufactured at our factory in Alipur, Delhi (India). We buy steel strips from Jindal Stainless Limited and manufacture steel pipes through Pressure Resistance Welding (PRW) process. Once pipes are ready we use the selected batches to manufacture pipe fittings of different sizes, based on pipe size. We manufacture ½′ to 6′ outer diameter pipes and more then 200 types of fitting.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths and applications.

NV: We use 316L surgical-grade stainless steel to manufacture our pipes, and SS 304 food grade stainless steel pipes and fittings, like Tee, Socket, Reducers, Elbow, Union, etc., which are not only strong and non-perishable but also hygienic. Our biggest market competition is with plastic pipes, however, they are not considered hygienic for many industries, such as food and beverages and pharmaceuticals. Hence, our products have a high level of application in these industries. Our product line is Central Public Works Department (CPWD) approved.

TPI: What are the recent developments and future plans at your company?

NV: We are among the few stainless steel pipe manufacturers in India, so we have direct competition from Chinese and European exporters. However, there are many industries where it is mandatory to use stainless

steel applications, and we are gaining recognition slowly. Presently our focus is to retain our existing clientele and build upon the numbers. Though we have been fortunate to find approval and support from the Indian government, who makes it mandatory for certain sectors and infrastructures to use stainless steel pipes for plumbing, we have aspirations to increase our production capacity, reach, and applicability and venture deeper into commercial projects.

TPI: Please shed light on your market footprint and clientele.

NV: Although the Indian pipes industry is dominated by plastic pipe manufacturers and foreign imports, we have managed to build a respectable and loyal clientele. We have worked along with National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) Limited and among our prestigious private sector contracts is the Ambience builder range of New Delhi and Gurugram. You can find our applications in food & beverage industry like Haldiram Snacks, various hospital & pharmaceutical industry projects, 5-star hotel projects, commercial projects and various industrial projects like metal industries & construction projects. We also have a joint venture with SAIL for iron rods, which we have been manufacturing for 35 years. Some of the government projects we have heralded include pipes and plumbing at Jaipur Railway Station, Gandhi Nagar Railway Station in Jaipur, CPWD, Ministry of Water

Resources in New Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh Nirman Nigam in Lucknow.

TPI: What is your outlook on the tube and pipe industry? What do you believe is its future?

NV: The stainless steel pipes market in India is still in the developing stage and is a very niche market due to competition with the plastic plumbing market, which is less costly, and has numerous manufacturers. However, we have faith in our product, it is not only hygienic and deterioration-proof, but it is also easily recyclable, installable, and rust-proof. Since the material mass density of steel is less than iron, it is a long-lasting alternative to galvanized iron pipes.

TPI: Do you have any dealers and distributors in India?

NV: We have many reputed customers in India. We continuously sell our products to contractors involved in fluid transportation in sectors like thermal, solar, and nuclear power, the oil and gas sector, refinery and petrochemical, dairy, chemical, fertilizer, defense, aerospace, and construction. We have a well-qualified and experienced marketing team for serving our product in various states of our country. Our group has a welldeveloped network of Dealers/ Distributor/Stockist exclusive sale depots spread over various states of India which includes the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP, Karnataka, & Maharashtra.

Jyoti Inox Private Limited: Providing Stainless Steel Solutions

Jyoti Inox Private Limited is the group that pioneered the introduction of stainless steel material in the rice industry. The company's state of the art unit is fully equipped with advanced machinery like CNC cutting and bending machines, power shearing machine and even a complete welding workshop with arc welding. In a recent interview with Tube and Pipe India, Mr. Sahil Garg – Director, Jyoti Inox Private Limited shared with us the company's business journey, market footprint, clientele and future plans.

Tube and Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of the business journey of your company, along with its crucial milestones? Sahil Garg: My father started this business in 1982, and in the 90s he started making stainless steel applications for the rice industry. After a period of time, he started making the spare parts for the rice industry machinery, which converted into manufacturing the complete machinery. Today, we are big suppliers of rice mill machinery in stainless steel only. With the newer generations joining the company, we have launched the stainless steel water tank and stainless steel plumbing for various buildings.

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the machinery installed at your facility.

SG: Currently, we have a 6-acres factory. However, we will be shifting from our current factory to a new 10acres factory for tube mills. In our factory, various laser welding and laser cutting machines are installed, which are imported from Japan, Germany and Taiwan. We have a range of welding technologies and

Mr. Sahil Garg – Director, Jyoti Inox Private Limited

plasma cutters to suit a wide variety of production requirements as different jobs require different technologies. The factory and plant layout we have here includes stateof-the-art CNC laser cutting machines, CNC hydraulic machine, NC hydraulic shearing machine, sheet bending machine, decoiler & straightening machines.

TPI: Please shed some light on the services provided by the company.

SG: All our fittings are imported from Taiwan, Japan and Germany. Our services include stainless steel plumbing and PEX plumbing, and we import the special plumbing that is Pert-Al-Pert Completed Imported from Germany. These are the special plumbing we provide.

TPI: What are the future plans for the company?

SG: We plan to provide stainless

steel solutions all over India. We also aim to expand our business to more industries, like the food processing, automobile industry, semiconductors industry and others. In the next 6 months, we will be building a new factory for making high precision and high pressure stainless steel pipes. In the future, we aim to go for laser welding technology for the tube mills. We are preparing for this change and purchasing machines.

TPI: Please shed some light on the clientele of your company.

SG: We mainly supply to big consumers like residential buildings, commercial buildings, hotels and hospitals. We supply to major businesses like Adani, as well as many hospitals in India. Our main supply also goes to the food industry, including clients like Cremica group and Priyagold. Our clientele also includes all the big rice exporters in

India like India Gate, Daawat, Kohinoor and others. We also manufacture tanks for industries like pharma and dairy. Currently we are providing tubes and pipes for plumbing services to India's biggest hospital, Amrita.

TPI: Please share your outlook on the tube and pipe industry.

SG: The Indian tube and pipe industry is progressing really well and India has started to export very well too. It is a huge advantage that after COVID-19, India had many prospective to export. Many small businesses flourished as they received big orders. The stainless steel pipes that we work with are going to be in demand for use in hydrogen cars. This is because hydrogen cars create vapors and stainless steel will be installed to make sure those vapors don't oxidize.

BUDGET 2023

Union Budget 2023 Drives Tubes & Pipes Industry Towards India's Amrit Kaal

The status of any economy is a reflection of its economic initiatives. The Union budget FY 23-24 is an example of how an economy can harvest its benefits timely. The budget has appropriated monetary tools for seven-edged growth. Within this spectrum, the budget also has implicated the growth of the tubes and pipes industry as the country maneuvers its way through Amrit Kaal. Explore here the budget's implications and how the major players plan to meet the increased demand for tubes and pipes.

It is the duty of every economy to conceptualize its efforts timely and reap the benefits of impending opportunities. The Union Budget 2023 of Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister of India, was designed to make the most of the Amrit Kaal, which the Indian economy is going through. Amrit Kaal translates to a period of prosperity, development, innovation, profitability, pleasure, and peace. While some sectors of the economy are directly placed to benefit from these attributes, others find their profitability as indirect or collateral benefactors. One such benefactor is our tubes and pipes industry. According to budgetary announcements, the tubes and pipes will experience an increase in demand across all sub-sectors, irrespective of forming metal. The demand growth is expected to accelerate in multipliers, and the major drivers are:

● INR 10,00,000 crore of Capital Expenditure has been allocated in the FY23-24 budget, which is 36.7 percent more than last year's allocation of INR 7,30,000 crores. The allotment has increased by almost 2x over the span of two years. It fuels the overall infrastructural growth of the economy, wherein tubes and pipes find immense applications.

● The FY23-24 Jal Jeevan Mission investment amounts to INR 70,000 crores. In the previous year, the mission successfully integrated nine crore rural households within the drinking water supply grid.

● The government allotted capital support of INR 30,000 crore to state-run oil refining-cum-fuel retailing companies in 2023-24.

● The Union Budget 2023-24 has allocated an enhanced outlay of INR 2,70,000 crores for the highways sector.

● The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna scheme allotment for FY 23-24 is INR 79,590 crores

● This budget has also announced an investment of INR 5,943 crores for Eklavya-model residential schools, which shall include infrastructure, drinking water, connectivity, and sanitization.

● Pradhan Mantri Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) Development Mission is also on paper. PM PVTG shall include actions toward housing, water and sanitation, power connectivity, etc.

● Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) is planned for Tier II and Tier III cities.

● The union government shall also provide financial assistance for sustainable micro irrigation in the drought-prone regions of Karnataka.

Ascertaining the importance of these announcements for the industry players, Tube & Pipe India initiated a dialogue with the major companies to get a real-time picture of the expected impact. These interpretations not only confirm the general expectations but also drive the industry to gear up as their role gains more importance in the Indian economy.

The pipe industry has grown in leaps and bounds,

thereby becoming one of the imperative drivers of growth in the country. This growth phase is going to continue with the budget announcement of INR 1,50,000 crores for both Infrastructure development and JJM Schemes.Additionalroads,buildings,industrialsheds,and logistic hubs, will all lead to an increase in demand for pipes.

JIPL Hissar is a well-established brand synonymous with unparalleledqualityandtimelydeliveryintheERWpipes& infrastructure sector. We have already been a major supplier in the past years in JJM Scheme in UP, HP, Jammu, and Rajasthan and are further gearing up to be on board in the upcoming government schemes. We are expecting a major demand boost with an infrastructure push from the Government and for the pipe industry JJM (GharGharJal)hasbeenabigdemandbooster.

Jindal Hissar will be putting up a green field plant in the South to meet the increasing demand for pipes. We already have a presence in the East, and North; through our manufacturing facility in the South, we will be able to service customers efficiently, especially ones with a panIndia presence. We are also exploring possibilities to set up a facility in West India as well, and will soon finalize the manufacturing project there as well. Our plants will be in close proximity to Jindal Group's hot-rolling steel plants so thatresponsetimescanbefurtherimproved.

In the Union Budget 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman outlined seven main targets under the 'Saptrishi' mantras, with infrastructure and investment predominating. The clubbing of infrastructure and investments in one of the seven priorities is one of the primary features, along with the second and third highest allocations for Highways and Railways at INR 2,70,000 crores and INR 2,41,000 crores respectively, after the highest allocation for the Ministry of Defence. Among the initiatives being taken is the development of the Infrastructure Finance Secretariat to encourage increased private investment in infrastructure, including trains, highways, urban infrastructure, and power. There is also a focus on reviving 50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes, and advanced landing groundings for improving regional air connectivity. One hundred essential transport infrastructure projects for last and first-mile connections for ports, coal, steel, fertilizers, and food grains industries have been highlighted to significantly boost India's logistics industry. Moreover, the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan portal is now fully operational having the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade as the key entity for the seven engines: Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways, and Logistics infrastructure.

Mr. Sunil Jain, Director & CEO, Jindal Industries Private Limited (Hissar)

Mr. Utkarsh Bansal, Director, Utkarsh India Limited

It is very encouraging to see the investments that have been planned by the government in the various fields of infrastructure. This will not only add to the growth of the country but also allow industries like ours which directly contributetowardsinfrastructuretogrow.

Utkarsh India is one of the backbones of Indian infrastructure across highways, railways, water supply, and constructionthroughvariousproductverticals.

Among other points is the National Highways Authority of India's launch of the Pune-Bengaluru Greenfield Expressway Project at an estimated cost of INR 50,000 crores, approval of the Somasila- Siddheshwaram cablestayed-cum-suspension bridge project (NH-167K) at an estimated cost of INR 1,082 crores, and the Jabalpur Ring Road Project at a cost of INR 3,600 crores. Among the road projects, funds were approved and sanctioned for the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur Four Laning Road Project (NH344B) and the Balikuda-Mulakani Two Laning Road Project(NH-55).

The revamp of the New Delhi Railway Station, Ahmedabad Railway Station, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Terminus Mumbai, at INR 10,000 crores was also approved. Under Project Sampark, the Centre sanctioned funds of INR 562 crores for the Akhnoor-Tain Br-Poonch twoorfour-laneroadproject(NH-144A)aswell.

The Union Government approved the implementation of the Saraighat rail-cum-road overbridge project connecting the north bank with Guwahati on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, at an estimated cost of INR 997crores.

There are also plans to construct new transmission lines to meet the 2030 target of 500 GW of renewable energy capacity. With states accounting for 20-25 percent of the overall infrastructure spending, the Budget has also considered an increase of over 30 percent in allocation to the scheme for special assistance to states for capital investment. The government plans to set up digital public infrastructure as an open source, open standard, and interoperable public good to enable inclusive, farmercentric solutions, and give a boost to the agricultural sector. It will also continue to focus on financial support for digital payments.

Union Budget 2023 will have an indirect impact on

raising the overall demand for the tubes and pipes industry. For instance, an increase in expenditure growth in the oil & gas sector by 27 percent, amounting to approximately INR 1,11,000 crores.

We, Maharashtra Seamless Limited (D.P. Jindal Group Company), are engaged in the manufacture of seamless pipes (1/2 inch to 20 inches) and ERW pipes (8 inches to 20 inches). Our group's company, Jindal Pipes Limited, manufactures ERW pipes (1/2 inch to 14 inches). Growth in infrastructure & real estate is expected in line with the strengthening of the local economy. It proposes more commercial, residential, and retail development for tier II and tier III cities. Municipal or government bodies will also be able to raise more funds, and all these will have a cumulative impact on the real estate sector as well as infrastructure development like Smart Cities, Roads, Bridges, Highways, Ports, etc. Housing for all with the PM Awas Yojana and the extended Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) will further boost the real estate sector. As a means of addressing this gap in affordability, the central government will further boost its initiative to provide affordable housing. Increasing the outlay for PM Awas Yojana by 66 percent the Union Budget 2023 has provided the real estate sector with crucial support and incentives. All these three schemes, that is Har Ghar Jal Scheme to supply piped water, affordable housing to all, and the best infrastructure will generate more demands for tubes & pipes in MEP, ducting, Conduit, Sewage, and drinking watersupply.

Mr. Shiv Kumar Singhal, President - Commercial, Maharashtra Seamless Limited

WIDE RANGE OF PIPES

• Line Pipes

• Boiler Tubes

• Aph Tubes

• Large Diameter Pipes

• Square & Rectangular Hollow Sections

• Low Well Thickness General

• Engineering Pipes

OUR BRANCHES

Mumbal Office:

211-213, Navratan Building, 69, P.D. Mello Road, Carnac Bunder, Mubai-400009. Maharashtra-india

Ph. +91 22 23488554 | Fax +91 22 23486356

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201-203, Sukhsagar, Near Hotel Fortune Lamdmark, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad-380013, Gujarat - india.

Ph. +91 79 27561123-24-25

Fax +91 79 27561224

BRANDS WE STOCK & REPRESENT

Email:

info@shahsteeltubes.com

shahsst@gmail.com

About 50 percent of the overall expenditure in the oil & gas sector will go into the expansion of refining capacity, 44 percent for exploration and production, and the balance into distribution. All these three areas will drive huge demand for seamless pipes. As our major trust is in this sector and we have been regularly supplying Seamless Production Casings, Tubings, and Line Pipes

to all state-owned oil companies like ONGC.OIL, IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, GAIL, etc., we will be a major supplier of the market for Steel Pipe Seamless & ERW in this growth story. We are fully equipped and geared up with our increased production plans in all shifts to meet the increased demands, at a rate of 10-12 percent, in FY 20232024.

The targeted focus of Government on increasing spending in the infrastructure sector will certainly create mega multiplier effect by generating demand for its input material like coal, cement, heavy machinery, and iron ore, alongwith creating mass level job opportunities in these sectors. It is bound to attract investment as well in the pipe and tube industry, which will further give impetus to this sector which has been a laggard since long. Further looking at the plethora of industries who use tubes and pipes as their input or ancillary product, the impact on this industry is surely expected to benefit fromalldimensions.

We have been quite positive on the demand outlook ever since Covid-19 started to phase down. We started bolstering our own infrastructure and human resource strength in last two years to keep up with the expected pace of growth and have developed separate wings to cater to the behaviour patterns and needs of customers in different sectors. Furthermore, we have come up with storage yards in Eastern and Southern parts of the country to ramp up the stock levels. Most importantly we have secured additional workingcapitalarrangementsfromfinancialinstitutionsto keepuspreparedforexcitingopportunitiesthatlieahead.

Government lead projects, especially infrastructure projects, are the largest consumer of steel and cement in India. Relying on the numbers coming out of the FY 23-24 budget, it is clear that the government is ready for the infrastructure push and it is now the responsibility of the Indian steel pipes & tubes industry to show their readiness to support this ambitious plan.

Extended lead times have always been a big thorn in infrastructure projects. Shah Steel & Tubes, as the super stockists of steel pipes and multiple stockyards across the country, is ready to meet this added demand by keeping its stock capacities at the highest level, especially with products that are used in infrastructure projects. By cutting the lead time, projects can be executed faster and end up savingalotoftaxpayers'money.

Mr. Gaurav Mittal, Managing Director, Bhushan Tubes Private Limited

Mr. Sapan Shah, Director, Shah Steel & Tubes

Gallium Equipment to Come Up with New Plant

Gallium Group provides turnkey solutions for tube and pipe manufacturers. Its product portfolio includes steel plants, projects & ERW steel tube mills, tube finishing equipment, precision cold saw cut off machines, rolls, tooling & coil processing equipment. The company has plans to come up with a new factory and innovative technologies. In an interview with Tube & Pipe India, Mr. Eduardo Santos Garin, Managing DirectorGallium Europe SRL, Gallium Group Company, talks in detail about the business and technology roadmap.

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of your company?

Eduardo Santos Garin: Gallium Group is one of the few manufacturers and suppliers to have a complete range of equipment. Our Group specializes in delivering turnkey solutions for steel plants, projects & ERW steel tube mills, tube finishing equipment, precision cold saw cut off machines, rolls, tooling & coil processing equipment. We make mills that can produce carbon steel tubes as well as stainless steel tubes. The mills made by us can be used to

Mr. Eduardo Santos Garin, Managing Director-Gallium Europe SRL, Gallium Group Company

produce pipes for various industries such as petroleum, boiler,automotive,bicycleandfurniture.

We have three factories in Faridabad, out of which two factories are operative. The third factory is under construction and expected to be ready by next year. The upcoming factory would be the largest spread across 6,500 squaremeters.

TPI: Throw some light on the infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities of your facility.

ESG: All the companies that are into machine building have a strong engineering setup. Even taking orders involves a lot of pre-engineering. We have a full setup for machine designing, and project management, and a very strong engineering team that deals with the vendors. Our in-house capacity to make the components is around 50%. We assemble the components in our factory and perform various functions such as mounting, wiring, piping, full loadtesting(ifrequired),equipmenttesting,panelbuilding and software development. The machines are then shipped to our customer, following which, a team of installation and commissioningvisitsthesite.

TPI: Has there been any recent development in terms of product development, or technological innovations?

ESG: Innovations are required in every sector. Our business is such that we are always encouraged by our customers to come up with something new. This gives us an impetus to apply our minds and develop new machines. When we started, we acquired technologies from top companies in the world and were able to do a lot of innovation on them. We got a hydro testing machine with a maximum test pressure of 3000 PSI from the collaborators but we were able to develop it up to 10,000 PSI.

Talking about the pipe drawing machine, we had the technology for drawing pipes of a maximum of 4 inches and now we have developed it up to 8 inches. We had mills which produced pipes of standard thicknesses, i.e., on 100 mm OD, one could weld pipes with thicknesses between 2 mm and 10 mm. Soon, we were able to develop mills that could make the pipe with a thickness of a minimum of 0.8 mm and a maximum of 18 mm. These two are the new innovationsthatweareofferingtopeople.

TPI: What are your future plans?

ESG: In the future, we want to develop Direct Forming Technology (DFT) mill. Currently, China seems to be an important producer and provider of such mills. In the conventional mill, we weld a round pipe and then convert it into a square or rectangular pipe. However, Direct Forming Technology allows us to directly weld square/rectangular pipes. This technology has great potential for the domestic aswellasinternationalmarket.

We also plan to get into the flat products segment, i.e. narrow 600 mm wide hot strip mills to produce hot rolled coilsandcoldrollingfacilityofthesamesize.Wewanttoget into a unique technology of producing very thin walled hot rolled material. This will give our current customers an opportunity for backward integration. Currently, we have an annual turnover of around INR 100 crore but we plan to makeitINR500croreinthenextfiveyears.

TPI: Please share some light on the clientele of your company.

ESG: Gallium Group has been in the industry for around 30 years. Our clientele is among the top manufacturers of India such as Tata Steel, Jindal, Ratnamani, Tube Products of India, Goodluck India. We are the licensees of top equipment manufacturing companies from Japan, the UK and the USA. In 1985, we had tube mills for Atlas cycles and A1 cycles which were running at a hundred meters per minute.

TPI: Share your outlook on the tube & pipe industry.

ESG: In any developed country, be it Japan or the USA, at least 11 to 12% of the total steel produced is converted into tubes and pipes. However, in India, it is just 3.5 to 3.75%.

Hence, there is a huge potential for the tube & pipe industry in India which is still untapped. As tubes and pipes are hollow and light, it is now replacing other forms such as beams, channels, and angles. With the availability of high-

tensile materials, tubular structures have become common in architecture. You can easily find them in high-rise buildings, shopping malls and stadiums. In the future, it is goingtohaveahugedemandinIndia.

thyssenkrupp Steel Grants Euro 1.8 Billion Contract for Direct Reduction Plant to SMS Group

Germany-based steel producer thyssenkrupp Steel placed an order worth over Euro 1.8 billion with SMS group for construction of the first direct reduction plant as part of the tkH2Steel transformation concept. The plant will have a capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of directly reduced iron, and is scheduled to be completed by late 2026. The project is currently in approval stages for state aid provisions and final funding decisions under the European Union.

March 9, 2023

Germany's biggest steel maker thyssenkrupp Steel

has awarded a contract worth Euro 1.8 billion to SMS group in Düsseldorf, for the construction of the company's first and Germany's largest hydrogenpowered direct reduction plant, with a capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of DRI. The upcoming plant is a part of thyssenkrupp's tkH2Steel transformation concept and will become one of the biggest industrial decarbonization projects in the world, avoiding more that 3.5 million tonnes of CO per year in the future. thyssenkrupp Steel 2 is already planning to avoid as much as 6 million tonnes of CO by 2030, representing well in excess of 30 percent 2 of its emissions. This order also marks the largest order in the history of the 150 years old North RhineWestphalia based company, SMS Group. The project is currently under approval for stated aide provisions and final funding decisions under the European Union. However, the North Rhine-Westphalia state as well as the German government have already signaled substantial financial support for the project. Through this project, the two companies are forming a

partnership for innovation and efficient industrial climate change mitigation. Bernhard Osburg, CEO of thyssenkrupp Steel shared, “It is a historic day for thyssenkrupp Steel and good news for industrial climate change mitigation – since, just by itself, our first direct reduction plant will enable us to avoid emitting 3.5 million metric tons of CO.” Talking about 2 their partnership with SMS group, he said “Together, we intend to demonstrate that an innovative and sustainable transformation of the steel industry is possible in Germany and Europe. We are thus creating the basis for tomorrow's green steel markets."

Yamazaki Mazak Offers One-Stop Multitasking Automated Machines for Expedited ROI

The demands of the Industry 4.0 go beyond the cost concerns and Yamazaki Mazak is aware of the same. As the tubes and pipes industry gathered for Steelfab Sharjah in Dubai, UAE, Mr. John Jerry, Assistant General Manager - Sales, gave Tube & Pipe India valuable insights on the industry trends and evolution and how Mazak plans to confront the same. With a legacy of over 100 years, the Japanese company promises its customers One-Stop Multitasking Automated Solutions for an enhanced and speedier ROI. Read the conversation below to know about Mazak's standing and future action plan.

Mr. John Jerry, Assistant General ManagerSales, Yamazaki Mazak

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of your business journey and crucial milestones?

John Jerry: Incorporated in 1919, Yamazaki Mazak has been a key player in the tubes and pipes industry for over 100 years. We are a Japanese establishment with a worldwide presence. We manufacture a complete range of CNC metal-cutting machinery. In 1998, we established our Mazak India technology center in Pune. In UAE, as of today since our initial regional venture, we have already installed over 150 machines. We cater to a diversified customer base, such as the oil and gas sector, medical sector, aerospace, semiconductor, die and mold, plastic, general engineering, etc.AtMazak,weofferourcustomersthebestoftechnology through one-stop solutions for multiple mechanized functions.

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, and machinery installed at your facilities.

JJ: Since we are a Japanese establishment our primary setup is in Japan, where we have five homegrown manufacturing plants. Under our global expansion plans, we have successfully entered and established ourselves in the American, European, Asian, Oceania, and Middle East markets as well, with a key presence in the USA, UK, China, India, and Singapore. Here, at the UAE facility, we take orders&supplyCNCTurning&Integrex,ourpopularmulti tasking machine used in manufacturing 2-6 meter-long tubes used in drilling applications. These machines are systems manufactured in our Japan plants. The Japanese plantsmeetallthemachineryandequipmentrequirements of Yamazaki Mazak all over the world, including India and UAE.

TPI: What is the manufacturing capability of these machines?

JJ: Our manufacturing capability conforms to our industrial position. In Japan, we are among the top machine tool manufacturers. We have been able to guard our rank in the global market as well. It goes without saying that to defend our market reputation our figurative outputs arehumongous.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths and applications.

JJ: Mazak is the answer to all your machinery and equipment requirements in the terms of 2D and 3D machinery. Our overall product line includes over 300 mechanized models which range from large mechanized setups to the small or child parts going in such large setups. We are focused on providing a one-stop solution to our customers. Our machines can handle all the machining operations,TrulyanALLDONEINONEmachine.Notonly do we limit to supply the machine, we also cater to the complete turnkey solutions from Mazak India like installation,engineering,tools,supplies,andfixturesasper

requirements of our customers. Our technology centers in India and other parts of the world are dedicated to helping customers find the right system that can resolve their problems.Oneofourkeyfeaturesinourmachinesismostly equipped with Integral spindle motors with mazatrol controllers for the quick setting / programming, which is very well needed for today's operating environment, which resultsinconsistentperformancewithfasterROI.

TPI: What are the recent developments and future plans at your company?

JJ: Mazak is all equipped and ready to uphold the shift into Industry 4.0. The era is stylized for automation with American standards and expectations taking over the market. Nowadays, not only a few parts but the whole system could be automated for speedy results. We provide one-stop multitasking automated solutions, which are powered with advanced programming languages for better accuracy. We offer solutions to our customers in varying forms such as gantry systems, robotized systems, automated palletech lines & etc. & sooner we will be having a manufacturing facility in India & I'm sure it will be much more cost effective & ensure faster delivery for our customerswith internationalstandards.

TPI: Please shed light on your market footprint and clientele. Also about the expansion plans.

JJ: Duetothecompany'sethicalpoliciesIcannotnameany specific clientele. However, I can assure you that in UAE you can find at least one Mazak installation in all the organizations which are involved in manufacturing. We havemadeamajormarkintheoilandgassector.Thesector is a booming industry in the UAE region and is also our major customer. However, not the only one. As I already mentioned, Mazak has a wide and varied consumer base. Today, here at Steelfab Sharjah, I see a demand for advanced and automated technological setups that can provide one-stop solutions for multiple functions. YamazakiMazakisheretoofferthesame.

TPI: Based on your experience, how do you see the market evolving for the sector?

JJ: In my observation and experience the tubes and pipes industry has a lot of growth scope. It is already a big market but as the times advance the customer needs and industry challenges are changing. For example, right now the industry needs to address two important challenges. The first is the efficiency of the machinery, that is how fast it performs. Even in this exhibition, I have observed that the customers want to see their investment deliver results. They ask about the performance and functions first and then the price. They are ready to make considerable monetary investments as long as they get transformed system solutions. The concerns today are the speed of the system, output quantity and quality, lesser breakdown, and superior technology. The second challenge for the industry istocutdowntherawmaterialcost.

TPI: What is your technology and business roadmap for the future?

JJ: Yamazaki Mazak's strength is in our solutions and products for our customers. We understand the requirements of our customers and provide them with satisfying products and services. Mazak is in step with the times and provides advanced centralized controlling systems. We use the Mazatrol programming language to build these systems. The language is simple and isolated enough that our customers need not go into the depth of design and drawing of the whole machinery in case of any part breakdown. Secondly, we address the follow-up problem of our customers, which is the machine operation. While superior technology means good results, properly trained personnel are also required to operate them. At our facility, we have a training center where we train the operators in the right manner. Moreover, we go a step ahead through on-field follow-up training after the installation of the machinery. Our final aim is to provide high-performing models which generate quick ROI for our customers.

TPI: Please express your thoughts in regard to the Indian market.

JJ: We have certain plans for the Indian market as it is a huge market for us, right after Europe. It is also growing at a fast pace. In all the years of our operation, Yamazaki Mazak has worked on different types of machinery and systems, such as Indian, European, Indonesian, Taiwanese, American, etc. Our experience, Japanese technology, and customer-centric solutions make us one of the best service providers for manufacturing organizations. India is one of our five major markets in the world. Our technology center in Pune features the best and the latest advancements of Mazak Group. It showcases Multitasking Machines, Horizontal and Vertical Machining Centers, Lathes and Laser Cutting Machines, and all the newly built advances. Additionally, Mazak India is our central location for Spare Parts, Spindle repair facility, training centers, and online and telephone customer support. We are one of the key players in the Indian market and have plans to grow and cement our position.

Tube Investments Invests INR 141 Crore for Capacity Expansion at Tiruttani Unit

Tube Investments of India Ltd. (TII) is planning to invest around INR 141 crore to upgrade the large diameter precision steel tubes manufacturing capacity from the previous 4,125 tonnes a month to 5,950 tonnes a month at its Tiruttani unit in Chennai.

February 3, 2023

Tube Investments of India Ltd. (TII), the engineering

company of the Murugappa Group, has shared their plans to further expand the capacity of its manufacturing facility in Tiruttani, Chennai. The plant was originally inaugurated around 18 months ago with an investment of approximately INR 250 crore. The company is planning to invest around INR 141 crore to upgrade the large diameter precision steel tubes manufacturing facility. The company shared in talks with stock exchanges that they will be expanding the capacity from the previous 4,125 tonnes a month to 5,950 tonnes a month, given the strong demand. The company is investing in expansion of the 18 months old unit, with major focus of the capex on the strong demand in the company's engineering business.

The project is reported to be financed through internal accruals and completion is projected in FY25. The capital expenditure will be focused on the strong demand in the company's engineering business. TII

has recorded a 14% increase in net profits for the third quarter at INR 138 crore, scaling up from INR 120.4 crore in the last year. The board at TII has announced an interim dividend of Rs. 2 per share for FY 2022-23. The company also declared that return on invested capital was at 52% for the quarter, an upgrade compared to the 50% in Q3FY22.

S.F.E. Group: Comprehensive Solutions to Tubes & Pipes Industry

Specialized

Fabrication Equipment

(S.F.E.) Group is the best example of how coming together of industry pioneers could help in the advancement of technology. As a result of a merger between four companies in the USA, UK, and France, the group offers its customers six brands to help them achieve excellence, repeatability, and quality output. The brands manufacture everything imaginable and innovative that could assist the tubes and pipes industry. Tube & Pipe India feels fortunate to converse with Mr. Himadri S. Pal, Regional Manager - India & Middle East, at Steelfab Sharjah, Dubai, as he elaborates on the business and production model of S.F.E. Group. He also shares the group's views and plans for the Indian market in the upcoming years.

Mr. Himadri S. Pal, Regional Manager - India & Middle East

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of your business journey and crucial milestones?

Himadri S. Pal: In 2019, B&B Pipe and Industrial Tools LLC (USA), Mathey Dearman Inc. (USA), and TAG Pipe Equipment Specialists (UK) merged to form Specialized Fabrication Equipment (S.F.E.) Group. Recently in 2022, we acquired AXXAIR (France) as well. As of today, our group operates through six brands, namely, Mathey Dearman, B&B Pipe & Industrial Tools (B&B), TAG Pipe Equipment Specialists (TAG), AXXAIR Innovative Orbital Solution (AXXAIR), PPM Pipe Purge Masters (PPM), and Fit-Up Pro. Although the group is newly formed all the member companies have individual experience ranging from 25-75 years. We cater to industries that require machinery or systems for manufacturing and maintaining tubes and pipes of any kind. We also manufacture mechanized solutions for welding, closed welding processes, semiconductor applications, pasteurization process plants, and pipe forging and fabrication.

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, and machinery installed at your facility.

HSP: We have manufacturing plants in the USA, France, and across Asia. Four out of our six brands, TAG, AXXAIR, PPM, and Fit-Up Pro, are integrated at our France plant, while Mathey Dearman and B&B are integrated at our USA plant in Houston. At both locations, we carry out extensive Research and Development processes to better our existing technology and engineer new ones. In India, we have set up our Sales and Services Office in Pune, where we offer our customers varying services and support. This includes assisting with operational training, system servicing, and assistingthroughanybreakdown.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths and applications.

HSP: Each of our brands provides specialized solutions to our customers. Mathey Dearman manufactured products are used for swirl oxygen-based cutting, plasma cutting, bevelling, pipe alignment clamps, pipe reforming clamps, piperiggingequipment,etc.B&B'sproductrangeisforpipe support systems for leveling and aligning flanges, such as pipe jacks and stands, mega rollers and stands, and material handling equipment. Fit-up products could be described as welder's accessories. TAG-manufactured systems are used for cold cutting, beveling, welding preparation, etc. PPM systems are used in pipe fabrication andforging.Ourbrandtechnologyensuresthatastheouter pipe gets forged the inner channel does not oxidize. Lastly, AXXAIR products could be used for orbital welding, closed head, open head, pipe-to-pipe welding, and tube to tube welding,etc.

TPI: What are the recent developments and future plans at your company?

HSP: We had elaborate plans at the time of S.F.E.'s establishment, however, due to the onset and effects of Covid-19, they hit a roadblock. From 2022 onwards we have restarted our development plans. We have developed tube-to-tube sheet welding for heat exchanger process plants. At Mathey Dearman, we are developing portable gas or plasma-cutting machines. Portable systems are not popular in the industry. However, at S.F.E., we strive to make portable systems so that they could be fitted on the pipe area that needs to be cut and simply do the cause. At TAG we are developing varying tooling requirements for new metals. We engineer special application designs and systems for newly developed metals. Our most recent addition, AXXAIR, is special in its own stand. For instance, in the milk pasteurization process, milk is heated and cooled within a very short time to increase its shelf life and make it marketable. It is required to pass through a channel of pipes that go through heating and cooling chambers where its temperature shifts from 80 to 4 degrees centigrade within a span of 15-20 seconds. These stainless steel pipes must not have any kinks or protruded welding for milk droplets to be left as the spoiled milk will spoil the whole next batch. Our AXXAIR manufactured systems help in ascertaining the exact sweet point and power consistency to achieve such welding results.

TPI: Please shed light on your market footprint and clientele.

HSP: Our systems have applications in all industries that require pipes and tubes. Some of the major clientele includes the power industry, oil and gas industries, shipbuilding industries, aviation industry, food and beverage industries, nuclear energy sector, petrochemical industries, pipe fabrication industries, and refineries. All types of process plants or infrastructures that have an application of process engineering can use our systems to ensure the smooth and efficient working of their process plants.

TPI: What is your outlook on the tube and pipe industry? What do you believe is its future?

HSP: Indian tubes and pipes industry has a lot of scope for development. Clearly, this for S.F.E. Group means a lot of opportunity and market in India. Presently, the Indian pharmaceuticals industry is so well developed that varying European organizations have established their plants here. Our systems that have applications in the pharmaceutical industry could be used on a wide scale in India. Moreover, processplantsareexpectedtogrowinnumbersinIndiadue to the shift in Geopolitics. As India looks forward to becoming self-sufficient, various outsourced processes shall be now home developed. Semiconductors are the best example of this. Until now India was importing them from countries like Taiwan, South Korea, China, etc, but now they are being manufactured in India itself. Another upcoming sector of process facilities is nuclear energy plants, as the powersourceisbeingusedtoreplacefossilfuels.

TPI: What is your technology and business roadmap for the future?

HSP: It is a common debate and notion of the current era that in the future everything shall be robotized, which is true, but only to an extent. Even with robotization, human skills and intervention could not be nullified wholly. For instance, in India, many processes require a high level of manual intervention and we offer our systems to organize the practice for better results. Our systems shall help you to achieve results with zero errors and continued repeatability. Hence, human skillset shall still be a requirement to operate the system. But with the convergence of their experience and intelligencewithourtechnology,thetimeandresourcesshall besavedfrombeingwasted.

TPI: What are your opinions about the Indian market?

HSP: S.F.E. Group has been closely working with the

Indian market for the last five to six years, that is since our establishment. We have been fortunate to witness that change in the attitude of the country. The government of India has already initiated the Make in India campaign, and industries and companies have been highly supportive and welcoming of the initiative. We have observed a demand for tools and systems that provide accuracy, repeatability, and efficiency. Our Indian customers seek solutions that get them the desired results in the first application. Moreover, Indian infrastructure is also being upgraded and developed to assist this shift. For example, here in UAE, it is easier for us to supply and support our customers as the roads are very good. India has grasped the difference made by the general infrastructure and is consistently working to better it. We expect exponential growth for the Indian market and industries in the upcoming years.

MSS Steel Tubes to Invest USD 6 Billion Towards Its First Manufacturing Plant in USA

MSS Steel Tubes USA, a subsidiary of MSS Steel Tubes SA (Portugal), has announced its first manufacturing plant setup in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, to strengthen its market presence in the USA market. The company has allotted an investment of USD 6 billion towards the project.

February 15, 2023

MSS Steel Tubes USA has announced a new

manufacturing plant in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The company has allotted an investment of USD 6 billion for the project which will be its first plant in the USA. The plant will be set in the Shelby County area and manufacturing operations shall be undertaken through the Outland Road facility of the company. The new plant will help the company to strengthen its market presence in the USA market.

MSS Steel Tubes USA is a subsidiary of MSS Steel Tubes Portugal, a cold-roll steel tube manufacturing company. MSS Steel Tubes Portugal has set up the subsidiary along with Metalogalva SA, and Soufer Industrial Limited. Metalogalva SA is a Portugal-based subsidiary of VingentGroup, also the parent group of MSS Steel Tubes, specializing in the designing, engineering, and manufacturing of metal structures. Meanwhile, Soufer Industrial Limited is a subsidiary of Soufer Group involved in the manufacturing of steel products, tubes, sheets, profiles, metal tiles, thermoacoustic tiles, etc.,

Mr. Margarida Caetano, CFO of Metalogalva Group,

expressed the company's elation at the launch of the new plant. He reflected on its impending importance in developing a regional market by addressing the ancillary needs of the existing consumer base, which majorly comprises solar panel manufacturers. He also quoted that location and transportation are determinant factors in the tubes and pipes industry, and the plant will help them focus on the market while cutting down transportation costs.

Müller Opladen: Sustainability and Clean Energy is the Future of the Industry

Müller Opladen Gmbh is a German engineering and manufacturing company that sold its first pipe profile-cutting machine in 1953. Since then the company has been manufacturing the world's best CNC profile-cutting machines, for the 3D cutting of steel pipes, vessels and structural steel workpieces, and welding machinery. In 2023, the company considers sustainability and clean energy as the key to keeping itself as relevant and important as it has remained for the last 70 years. At the Steelfab Sharjah exhibition in Sharjah, UAE, Mr. Jan Sulimma, Mueller's Director of Sales and Marketing, indulged Tube & Pipe India to share about the company's journey, products, and future plans. He also shared Mueller's outlook on industrial trends and how they plan to stay on top of their game.

Mr. Jan Sulimma, Director of Sales and Marketing, Müller Opladen Gmbh

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of your business journey and crucial milestones?

Jan Sulimma: Mueller Opladen, a more than 100 years old German company, has been one of the key players in the market since the 1950s, with an industrial experience of about 70 years. In 2016, we entered with capital Watts Specialties, an American company, which now goes by the name of Watts Mueller. We now have two active facilities in Germany and USA from where we cater to our customers worldwide. Although we manufacture a wide range of mechanized solutions for the tubes and pipes industry, CNC pipe profiling machines are our focal products. We are among the biggest manufacturers of CNC profiling machinesintheworld.

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, and machinery installed at your facility.

JS: WehavetwofabricationunitsinGermanyandtheUSA. In Germany, we outsource industrial services, which is a common practice there. We engineer and design our machines, but get the fabrication and finishings outsourced. However, in America, the industrial service infrastructure is not as economical and developed. Hence, at the facility, all our manufacturing operations are performed in-house. This includes welding, cutting, powder coating, etc. We manufacture an average of 50 CNC pipe profiling machines every year. Apart from CNC machines we also manufacture welding systems and robotizedbeamcuttingmachines.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths and applications.

JS: Wemanufactureawiderangeofpipecuttingmachines. These can be used for the smallest to highest diameter ranges in round, square, or rectangle shapes. To give you a clear idea, our machines could be used to cut pipes of diameter 2-12 inches, 50-300 millimeters, and up to 160 inches, 4 meters. We also engineer and manufacture systems for making tank heads, domes, and dished ends for pressure vessels. Dished ends cutting machines are among our major business products along with CNC profiling machines. Additionally, we also make a range of robotic 3D cuttingmachinesforcuttingI-beams,angles,channels,etc.

TPI: What are the recent developments and future plans at your company?

JS: Our recent developments are focused on regular upgrading and updating of our existing machine software and HMI. We have built strong in-house software support. It helps us import information from any CAD/CAM system, irrespectiveofitslocationworldwide.Thisisamajorhelpin case of breakdown or servicing. We also use the information to update our machine software system so that our new products are better than their predecessors. Upgraded machine software system helps us make our machines and HMI more user-friendly. In the upcoming

future, we might eventually venture into enhancing our product range from oxyfuel and plasma pipe cutting into engineering and manufacturing as well fiber laser and waterjetpipecuttingmachines.

TPI: Please shed light on your market footprint and clientele.

JS: Wehavecustomersinover80countriesworldwide.We have sold between Müller Opladen and Watts Mueller almost 2000 CNC profiling machines. Our clientele includes companies from the oil and gas sector, all types of piping companies that require pipe cutting systems, refinery-building companies, ship-building companies, etc. Among all the sectors, in oil and gas are many of our major customers and we manufacture all kinds of machines that help them in their downstream, upstream, and offshoreoperations.

TPI: What is your outlook on the tube and pipe industry? What do you believe is its future?

JS: Having served the industry for over 70 years we have seen all kinds of trends and evolution that the tubes and pipes industry has gone through in the last century. Although the industry has been in a growth phase for the last 10 years we believe there is still a lot of growth potential and scope. The future of the industry lies in collaborating with the clean energy sector and we are slowly venturing into it. As sustainability takes the central stage, the longterm durable products and systems of our industry shall becomehighlyrelevant.

TPI: What is your technology and business roadmap for the future?

JS: We are the pioneers of this industry and plan to continue being so. We have the traditional industrial strength and we aim to gain a front foot in futuristic transformation as well. To achieve this we are relying on innovation, future technology like waterjet, sustainable manufacturing, partnership with the clean energy sector, and retaining our customers as we build new relationships. Wehavemanyrepetitivecustomersasmostofourproducts are customized to fit our respective customers' requirements.

TPI: Do you have any dealers and distributors in India? What are your opinions about the Indian market?

JS: Yes, we have many Indian partners and customers and we have been working with JSK Engineering for many years. Also last year, we made prestigious sales to VK Group, which is set to establish four to five factories for the production of clean energy equipment in India. We are aware that our biggest competition in the Indian market is Chinesemanufacturers,whichexportmechanicalsolutions at far much more economical cost. However, we are glad that VK Group saw the sustainability and benefit in purchasing better and long-term technology. We look forwardtobuildingalong-lastingcustomerbaseinIndia.

Mac Bending: Catering to Customer Centric Solutions

Created by M-Bend Makine Ltd. Şti, Mac Bending has continued to produce innovative and technological metal processing machines with their expert staff and experience in the industry. In an interview with Tube and Pipe India, Mr. Serdar Menteş – Overseas Sales and Marketing Manager, Mac Bending, gave insightful information about manufacturing for special projects, increasing manufacturing capacity, market footprint of the company as well as the future trends.

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give a brief outline of the business journey of your company, along with its crucial milestones?

Serdar Menteş: OurCompanyhasbeeninthismarketfor 10 years. Initially, we used to manufacture special projects. However, since the past 4 years we have been specifically working on profile bending, pipe bending and sheet bending machineries. In domestic markets, we have our own machines and we are working as an outsource company. That is our source of getting feedback about our company. So if there is an issue with any machine, we can repair it before the customer complains. That is also the reason that we are giving 3 years warranty, unlike general machinery companies. Even if a customer presents an offer to us, we are happy to make it. This means we trust our machinery and have an open mind to cater to our customers.

Mr. Serdar Menteş – Overseas Sales and Marketing Manager, Mac Bending

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the manufacturing capabilities of your facility.

SM: Last year we manufactured around 300 machines. However, this year we will be increasing our capacity as we are building a new factory, which will be finished before summer. Another reason to increase our capacity is our business expansion. For a long time, we have been supplying only to domestic markets. However, since the past 6 months wehavestartedsupplyingtomarketsabroadaswell.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths and applications.

SM: Ourproductcatalogincludesprofilebendingmachines, pipe bending molds, sheet bending machines specially to make sheets round like a pipe or pole. Generally, the machinery can be of 3 kinds: manual, NC and CNC. NC machines are semi-automatic, which means the user has to bend the first program themselves and save it, and then the machine will read the design automatically. We are currently working on a new software CNC machine which will be fully automatic. The CNC software is already finished. However, we will be properly testing it before offering it to customers. So it will take a few months before we put it in the market as we want to be 100 percent sure that the software is working andeliminateanyissues.Whenthefullversionisreadyitwill beagoodcompetitorinthemarket.

TPI: What are your future plans for the pipe industry?

SM: We are ready for the future. We have certain ideas in

ourmindanddevelopmentsforourmachinery.Wedevelop our products through gaining feedback from the customer and staying updated with the market. Our outsource company is a really good place for innovation. We can customizeandprovidewhatthecustomerneeds.Thisisour futureplanforincreasingcapacity.

TPI: Please shed some light on the market footprint and the clientele of your company.

SM: In the domestic market, our clients are end users. However, for markets abroad travelling to each country is not easy or possible in some cases. So for all business abroad, our clients are the dealers. Currently, we have dealer clients in 5 countries. Despite being new in the abroad market, our business is developing rapidly in that sector. We have a business expansion method as well. When we visit exhibitions or large scale public events, we meet many potential customers who show interest in our business. After the events, we visit the most serious customersanddiscussworkingtogether.

TPI: Please share your outlook on how the market is evolving in the tube and pipe industry.

SM: When we look around us, the metal market is growing well. There are many industries which utilize metal, which means that the metal market will only go up and perform better. We are grateful to be working in this market and hopefully we will improve and grow ourselves in the market aswell.

Rama Steel Tubes to Invest INR 600 Crore for Steel Plant Setup in UP

RSTL signed an MoU with the UP state government to invest INR 600 crore to set up its steel processing plant in the state.

February 14, 2023

Rama Steel Tubes Limited (RSTL) and the

Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up a steel processing plant in the state at a proposed investment of INR 600 crore. The overall investment shall be executed in phases.

The planned processing unit shall manufacture MS Pipes, STP Poles, GI Pipes, CR Coils, GP Coils, and Colour Coated Coils.

Richi Bansal, Executive Director of RSTL, accepted that MoU shall help the company to achieve its capacity expansion and industrial strengthening targets.

RSTL is a manufacturing and trading company, dealing in steel pipes and related products, such as black and

galvanized tubes and Electric resistance Weld (ERW). The company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE), under the name RAMASTEEL. The company's scrip ended at INR 43, a decline of 1.15%, on February 13, 2023.

Copier Machinery: Experts of Industrial Pipe Machining Solutions

Copier Machinery considers its customized solutions and rapid support and service as its greatest strengths. The Netherlands company offers a wide range of pipe preparation machinery portfolios and emphasizes on innovation, stability, reliability, and high quality. Mr. Jan Copier, CEO and Owner, was interviewed by Tube & Pipe India at the recently held Steelfab Sharjah Expo. He shared with us his company's profile, work, and future plans of bringing to market developments worked out in the last 10 years.

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give us a brief outline of your business journey and crucial milestones?

Jan Copier: Copier Machinery started as a steel construction and machine building company in 1997 in the Netherlands. In 2000 we acquired Cornelissen and in 2010, after establishing Copier Bevelmachines, we started to sell under the Copier brand. In 2016, we acquired Arla, a German company, and expanded to the USA in 2018, and we started to use Copier Machinery as a brand name, because we developed much more than only machines for bevelling. As of now, our engineering and manufacturing plant is based in our headquarters in Giessen, The Netherlands, together with our sales department. We also have a sales office and warehouse based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to support our USA customers. We work on a new subsidiary in Dubai to support the Middle East and surroundings. We strongly believe in having a local presence to optimize customer support. We specialize in rotating tool lathes (RTL) and makesolutionsandtoolsforthetubesandpipes industry. 60% of our orders are standard solutions or machines, 35% are modified standardand5%isaone-offsolution.

Mr. Jan Copier, CEO & Owner, Copier Machinery

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, and machinery installed at your facility.

JC: The plant at Giessen, The Netherlands, is our manufacturing unit and all our production work is concentrated here. We have a 1500 square meter facility with offices, shop and warehouse. We design, engineer, program, and assemble all our machines in-house, but outsource the production of our parts. Our focus remains on designing, assembling, installing, application training, and maintenance of the machinery. We also provide accessories and devices to assist the application of our machines.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths and applications.

JC: We manufacture special lathes for machining long products like pipes and bars. We also offer solutions towards automation, which contain pipe handling, connections with ERP systems and remote control. We are in several markets, like pipe spool production, pipe production (pipe mills), pipe piling, hydraulic cylinder productionandshipbuilding.

For these industries we have solutions in a wide diameter range, from 1/2 “up to 65”. As already mentioned, we specialize in RTL which works differently than traditional lathes, as the workpiece remains static and the tool rotates, machining the pipe or bar. We have solutions that work with form-tools or with single point machining (CNC controlled). We can offer solutions with short cycle-times, or solutions easy to automate and can run with less operationalcosts.

Another market we are in is fire protection. We provide solutions and machinery that can roll-groove or cut-groove pipesforsprinklerinstallations.

We also provide various accessories and devices to assist our working, such as tooling, inside/outside diameter tracking, pipe roller bench, clamping devices, drive and grooverolls,groovingrollerbench,andliftandturn.

TPI: What are the recent developments and future plans at your company?

JC: Although we have already sold over 400 machines and systems in over 40 countries, we are focused on expanding our sales and service by increasing and extending our local presence. We have also done a lot of research and development work in the last 10 years and plan to launch upgrades into the market. Additionally, we sense the market is still moving in favour of more automation and we offercustomizedsolutionsinthisarea.Youcanselectanyof our advertised products and get them customized to your requirements, or you can come to us with your requirements and we could engineer a solution most suitableforyou.

TPI: Please shed light on your market footprint and clientele.

JC: We have clients in over 40 countries across the world, and about 95% of our revenue comes from exports. Although our strongest markets are Europe and the USA,

the performance varies with the Far East and Middle East market performing better in some years. Our clientele includes all the industries where tubes and pipes have applications, such as pipe spool fabrication, pipe mill, pipe piling, marine and offshore, fire sprinklers, hydraulic cylinderproduction,automotive,andindustrialboilers

TPI: What is your outlook on the tube and pipe industry? What do you believe is its future?

JC: There is an overall shift in the global economy as world preference is shifting from the oil and gas sector to renewable and clean energy sources. Although the tubes and pipes industry shall be following the trend, the oil and gas sector still has 10-15 years available to continue dominating the world economy. Additionally, we see the development of complex materials and metals and an increase in automation. Also there is a big development in data logging and analysing. There is considerable growth expected in this field as the production data gets analysed andproductionsystemscangetoptimized.

TPI: What is your technology and business roadmap for the future?

JC: Although we started manufacturing CNC piping applications eight years ago, in 2014, there is still developmentandsalesincreasepossible.So,ourfocusshall be on increasing CNC's market appearance and developing data logging technology. More conventional production machinery will develop further, because machine building is also developing, one example is 3D printing which gives more freedom to have optimized design solutions against lower costs. Data logging will help customers to improve their production efficiency and reduce their maintenance costs,andwecansupportthem.

TPI: What are your opinions about the Indian market?

JC: Geopolitics has a strong impact on our business and we try to remain in step with it to ensure profitability. Also we believe that good cooperation between suppliers could improve profitability for customers. Moreover, as the projects become bigger the scale of investments grows and processes get diverse and automated. Cooperation and collaboration can help us to provide better solutions to our customers. We already have contacts in India and have the ambition to bring solutions to the Indian market, and supportcustomerstobesuccessfulintheirmarkets.

Bhavya Machine Tools: One-Stop Shop for all Machinery Needs

Bhavya Machine Tools is a well established name in the field of engineering workshop machinery, providing Indian and international industries with technologically advanced and high performing machinery. In a recent conversation with Tube & Pipe India, Mr. Yash Shah – International Business Development Manager, Bhavya Machine Tools, talked about the company's business journey, the need for their products in every industry, major companies they supply to and their vision towards automation.

Tube & Pipe India: Could you please give a brief outline of the business journey of your company, along with its crucial milestones?

Yash Shah: We are a 30 years old company, dealing in machine tools like workshop and toolroom machines as wellassheetmetalapplicationmachines.Wehaveourhead officeinAhmedabad,GujaratinIndiawhichhasa1,10,000 sq. ft. showroom. Our company has been exporting since the past 6-8 years, and has recently expanded a branch in Dubai to cater to the service needs of the customer that we have already supplied the machine to, as well as to generate new enquiries and new business and cater the market in the Gulf.WehaveanotherbranchinKenyaaswell.

TPI: Kindly cast some light on the infrastructure and manufacturing process at your facility.

YS: We have a small workshop and toolroom in our warehouse. Usually we get all the job work done outside. Some of the components are imported from countries like China, Taiwan and Turkey and some parts come from Rajkot and Punjab. These parts are brought in and

Mr. Yash Shah – International Business Development Manager, Bhavya Machine Tools

assembled. We also believe in keeping the machines ready in stock. So it is kind of a 365 days exhibition for all the customers that are visiting and like a one-stop shopping mall for machinery. So our brand and quality is fixed, but wedonotmanufactureproductsin-house.

TPI: Tell us about your product portfolio along with its key strengths and applications.

YS: Since workshops and toolrooms are in every manufacturing industry, there is no specific industry we serve. Specifically for tube and pipe, when cutting a tube or pipe we need a band saw, when drilling into a tube or pipe we need a drilling machine, and when bending a tube or pipe we need a tube bending machine. We provide all these machines, which are readily available in the Ahmedabad showroom. Our strength is that we have a wide service networkinIndia,becausewhenyouaresupplyingmachinery then service is a must. Also, the quality of our products, in terms of safety, features, efficiency and proficiency, is better incomparisontoourcompetitorsinthemarket.

TPI: What are the company's future plans for the pipe industry?

YS: As per the current market, a lot of people are looking for features. For example, earlier when people bought the machines they would stick to the application. But now, with the application, the customer also wants specific features like safety features or adding light to see the operation. Our

vision for the next 5-10 years is to bring more technology in theIndianmarket,forthemarkettogrow.

TPI: Please shed some light on the market footprint and the clientele of your company.

YS: We supply our products to all the major Multi National Corporations (MNCs) in India and all listed companies in various sectors like steel and tube and pipe. We have supplied to big companies like Ambuja, SR Steel, Adani, Sunflag Steel,Venus Wires, NeelKamal, Surya (Steel, Tubes andPipes)amongothers.

TPI: Please share your outlook on how the market is evolving in the tube and pipe industry.

YS: We see India developing a lot in the next 5-10 years. This is because India is a developing country, and with the schemes being introduced by the Government we see an industrial revolution beginning in India. Whenever there is an industrial revolution, there is a lot of construction happening and that is where steel, tubes and pipes come intothepicture.

TPI: What is your technology and business roadmap for the future?

YS: We aim for the company to be automated and for the company to run in an autopilot mode. The innovation and technological involvement we want to involve in our machines are also factors we want to involve in our system ofrunningthecompany.

Surya Roshni Limited Approves INR 75 Crore Investment for New 72,000 TPA Steel Pipe Plant

The Board of Surya Roshni Limited recently approved the setting up of a new steel pipe plant for GP and CR coil/pipe manufacturing at Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh. With an investment of INR 75 crore through internal accruals, the mill is projected to have a production capacity of 72,000 TPA and commissioning is scheduled by March 2024.

March 14, 2023

Surya Roshni Limited's Board of Directors has

recently approved setting up of a new steel pipe plant in Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh, for the manufacturing of GP and CR coils/pipes. The new plant, being financed through internal accruals, has an investment of INR 75 crore and will have a production capacity of 72,000 TPA. The commissioning is scheduled by March 2024.

With the setup of the new plant, the company aims for the backward integration of GP and CR Coil /Pipe, ensuring timely availability of GP coil/CR coil at lower cost through in-house production, thus enabling the company to increase its production of GP Pipes and to

cater the increasing demand of its products. With the setting-up of the new plant, the share of high value added pipes will increase resulting in the creation of a much larger and stronger steel pipes business with economies of scale.

Jindal to Invest Over Rs 10,000 Crore

to set up 3 mn-tonnes Steel Plant in Andhra Pradesh

Jindal's chairman Mr. Naveen Jindal shared that the company is preparing to set up a 3 million tonnes steel plant in Andhra Pradesh, with an investment of over INR 10,000 crore. The group will also be signing an MoU with Andhra Government to invest in renewable energy and increase their existing cement plant's capacity.

March 3, 2023

C

hairman of Indian steel company, Jindal Steel &

Power, Mr.Naveen Jindal recently shared the company's plan to invest INR 10,000 crore for setting up a steel plant in Andhra Pradesh. The plant will have a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum and will employ over 10,000 people, through direct and indirect employment.

Mr. Naveen Jindal, while speaking at the Global Investors Summit 2023, shared the company's plans for the new plant. "Further to increase our investments in the state (AP), we are working on setting up a three mn tonne steel plant near Krishnapatnam by investing more than Rs 10,000 crore. And more than 10,000 people are going to be

getting employment here directly and indirectly," he said.

Jindal shared that the group will sign a MoU with Andhra Pradesh government to invest in renewable energy in all solar, wind and hydro fields, as well as increase their existing cement plant's capacity.The group will also be investing in a port and building a slurry pipeline and a MSME park in the state.

Alleima Commissions New Hydraulic and Instrumentation Tubing Facility at Mehsana Mill in Gujarat

Sweden-based Alleima has inaugurated its new hydraulic and instrumentation tubing facility at its Mehsana Mill in Gujarat, West India. The new facility is a part of Alleima's investment growth initiative started in 2017, and is expected to expand the hydraulic and instrumentation tube capacity to meet the growing market for infrastructure around natural gas. This move will also enable the transition towards cleaner alternative fuels and meet the increased demand from growth in the chemical and petrochemical segment in India.

March 14, 2023

Advanced stainless steels manufacturer Alleima has

recently inaugurated a new hydraulic and instrumentation tubing factory at its Mehsana Mill in Gujarat, West India. Alleima's first indian operation was in 1983 in Pune. The first phase of the growth initiative first started in 2017. It was completed in 2020 when Alleima added a new cold finishing tube manufacturing line mainly for heat exchanger tubing and other demanding industrial applications. This time, the investment has been divided into two parts, a new

hydraulic and instrumentation tubing factory and a heat exchanger (HX) cold finish tube capacity. Today, India is one of Alleima's key geographical areas. The Mehsana manufacturing facility, which has now expanded and modernized, has increased production and availability of high quality seamless stainless steel and high alloy tubes to strengthen service in the region.

According to Alleima's President and CEO Mr. Göran Björkman, the new hydraulic and instrumentation tubing manufacturing facility will enable them to serve customers locally with premium products in India. He shared, “The investment aims to capture growth opportunities in the Chemical and Petrochemical segment. There is also a change towards increased natural gas in the energy mix and a shift towards alternative clean fuels, which present further growth opportunities. The Mehsana Mill is an important facility in our journey towards strengthening our footprint in Asia.”

“The new factory will expand the Hydraulic and Instrumentation Tube capacity to meet the growing market for infrastructure around natural gas. This move will also enable the transition towards cleaner alternative fuels and meet the increased demand from growth in the Chemical and Petrochemical segment in India.”, says Mr. Sharath Satish, President, Business Unit Tube APAC, Alleima.

In 1983, Alleima established its first operation in Pune, India. “As part of our strategy to invest capacity and capability in growth markets, says Göran Björkman, President and CEO at Alleima.

“For the past few years, we have been focusing on boosting capacity, adding new products, and constantly improving our capabilities to meet the highest global quality standards and customer specifications.

MetTube to Invest Over INR 1,000 Crores in New Copper Tube Manufacturing Plant In Gujarat

MetTube Copper India Private Limited will invest over INR 1,000 crores to set up a new copper tube manufacturing plant in Sanand, as per the MoU signed with the Gujarat state government. The plant shall be the first copper tube manufacturing plant in India to make fifth-generation copper tubes.

February 16, 2023

MetTube Copper India has finalized a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Government of Gujarat to set up a copper tube manufacturing plant in Sanand, Gujarat, wherein, the first phase shall require an investment of INR 1,000 crores.

The plant, one of the first copper tube manufacturing factories in India, will manufacture fifth-generation copper tubes, and help reduce carbon footprint, and is among the series of steps taken toward a self-reliant India. The first phase of construction shall also help in providing employment to 1,500 people, directly and indirectly.

Copper tubes are in massive demand by the refrigeration and air conditioning industries in India.

Mr. Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, and Mr. Apurva Bagri, Chairman of MetTube Copper India,

signed the MoU in Gandhinagar, for the plant to be set up in a phased manner at Sanand Industrial Estate II.

MetTube Copper India Private Limited is the Indian unit of MetTube Copper, a copper tube manufacturing corporation in Malaysia. The company is a productionlinked investor (PLI) scheme, setting up manufacturing plants for components used in the white goods sector.

Hi-Tech Pipes Announces INR 510 Crore Investment for Manufacturing Unit in UP

The leading ERW pipe manufacturer plans to set up a mega manufacturing unit, which will support the company's capacity expansion plans as well as uplift the company's position in the steel tubes and pipes industry.

January 9, 2023

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's

“Aaatmanirbhar Bharat” vision, Hi-Tech Pipes has taken the step to invest INR 510 crore in Uttar Pradesh for setting up a manufacturing facility. Under the Invest UP programme in the leadership of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the Delhi-based company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UP government, with the goal to set up a mega manufacturing unit for manufacturing of steel tubes and pipes as well as flat steel processing. Hi-Tech pipes stated that according to the MoU, the company will invest in a phased manner to set up the facility.

Mr. Ajay Kumar Bansal, managing director of Hi-Tech

Pipes, shared about the strong presence of the company in the state, and that the MoU will only strengthen the commitment to create more employment and business opportunities in the country's most populous state. The favourable business environment as well as the incentives offered by the UP government will further help the company strengthen its place in the industry.

Surya Roshni lands INR 147 crore

from GAIL, Indian Oil

Coated

Pipes

Orders

The company's December quarter results showed doubled net profit from last year, leaping from last year's INR 40 crore to INR 90 crore this year.

January 20, 2023

Indian multinational company Surya Roshni recently

shared that it has received orders worth INR 123.95 crore from Indian Oil and INR 23.35 crore from GAIL respectively. In an exchange filing, the company shared that it received the order from Indian Oil for the supply of API-5L coated pipes and bare pipes in the state of Tamil Nadu. Indian Oil's supply order is required to be fulfilled in nine months. The order received from GAIL is for the supply of powder-coated GI pipes for GAIL's City Gas Distribution project. This order would be executed over a period of 18 months.

Although the company's profits doubled from last year, the company's revenue retained the same value at INR 2,021 crore. The company's steel pipes and strips business showed great operating performance

with EBITDA per MT rising 76 percent from last year to INR 6,733. Surya Roshni Ltd is one of the leading exporters of ERW pipes, and the largest producer of ERW GI pipes. It is one of the largest lighting companies in India.

APL Apollo Tubes Launches Next-Gen Steel Building Solutions for Efficient Construction

India's largest structural steel tubes producer APL Apollo Tubes Limited recently launched their next-gen steel building solutions, as a step towards ensuring future-proof, better and faster construction. The company united with leading structural engineering institute IIT Roorkee and performed a joint research for demonstration of tubes being efficient structural steel components. The new-age construction mechanism and solutions were presented to over 200 architects and consultants in the event at Bangalore. March 17, 2023

APL Apollo Tubes Limited launched their next-gen

steel building solutions in an event held in Bangalore on 17th March, 2023. The leading structural steel tubes manufacturer collaborated with IIT Roorkee, India's leading structural engineering institute, on a joint research for demonstrating that tubes are efficient structural steel components, capable of utility in large scale projects like high-rise buildings, factories, warehouses, data centers and medical facilities. It is an effective method of constructing substantial, durable & sustainable buildings. This new-age construction mechanism & solutions were presented to over 200 architects & consultants in the construction space for better adaptation and creating an overall impact.

Mr. Sanjay Gupta, the chairman and managing director of APL Apollo Tubes Limited, spoke about the new launch and APL Apollo's vision for the

construction sector. He shared "Steel Building Solutions or Tubular construction is a game-changing technology that is bound to bring in a revolution in the construction space. The entire construction process ensures that the ecological balance is fairly maintained with zero air pollution and zero water wastage. It improves recyclability and is more time efficient and cost-effective than conventional construction processes.”

Tata Steel to invest INR 13,000 crore per annum to Double its Production to 40 Million TPA

The Indian multinational steel-making company, Tata Steel is aiming to double its steel production to about 40 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in India by 2030. Tata Steel will continue to invest INR 10,000-13,000 crore a year to grow its downstream businesses of tubes and wires in India.

The firm intends to increase the production of flats

to 27 mtpa (from 16 mtpa), longs to 5 mtpa (from 13 mtpa) and of tubes to 2 mtpa from (1 mtpa), wires to 1 mtpa (from 0.45 mtpa) and ductile iron pipes to 1 mtpa (0.2 mtpa). The company is also looking to grow its downstream businesses of tubes and wires in India. In

an interaction, Mr. TV Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel stated that the company has the requisite sites and as they grow the upstream market, the company will also grow the downstream businesses such as tubes, wires and ductile iron pipes, among others.“Our current capex is in the range of Rs 10,00013,000 crore a year, and going forward, we will continue to have that kind of a capex. Depending on projects, it would peak but at the same time we will keep an eye on debt levels. We are committed to keeping debt to Ebitda below 2, and we will generate enough cash flows to support us,” he added.

The company recorded a net loss of INR 2,223.84 crore in Q3, and a net profit of INR 9,572.67 crore in Q3 of last fiscal year. Steel prices are currently at around INR 60,000 per tonne, and are expected to rise depending on various factors. “It will mirror what's happening in the global markets. International prices went up by about $100, which is why Indian steel prices have also started going up. It also depends on coking coal prices, which have also risen by $340-350. So, if coking coal stays at $350, then steel prices will also rise,” he added.

SeAH GSI brings USD 240 million, 20,000 TPA Steel Tube Production Facility

The upcoming facility will be the first of its kind stainless-steel seamless pipes and tubes production facility in Saudi Arabia, built on a 1,78,000 sq m area. The joint venture between Saudi's industrial investments company Dussur and Korea's steel manufacturer SeAH CSS is expected to begin operating in 2025.

recently had a groundbreaking ceremony on its unique stainless-steel seamless pipes and tubes production facility in Saudi Arabia. The new plant is being built on a 1,78,000 sq m area within the King Salman Energy Park (Spark) and when fully

The SeAH GSI joint venture between Saudi Arabian

Industrial Investments Company, Dussur and the leading Korean steel manufacturer, SeAH CSS

Fabruary 2, 2023

functional, will have the operating capacity of producing 20,000 tonnes of seamless pipes and tubes per annum. Spark is a leading ecosystem located in Dammam's Eastern Province. Spark and SeAH GSI signed a deal in September 2022, for developing the production facility in order to increase the manufacturing of energy-related products in Saudi Arabia. The ground breaking ceremony was attended by high profile guests like Park Joon-yong, the South Korean Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and Engineer Saif Al Qahtani, President and CEO of Spark

along with top executives from Saudi Aramco, Dussur, SeAH Holding and Spark.

Spark's President and CEO Saif Al Qahtani said, “I am confident that the resources provided at the energy park will allow SeAH GSI to thrive and succeed as it enters a new chapter in its expansion journey.” SeAH's GSI CEO Young Soon Kim said with this production facility, the Korean group aims to become the pioneers of specialty steel pipe and tube manufacturing in Saudi Arabia.

Anti-dumping Duty on Importing Stainless Steel Tubes & Pipes from China

A definitive anti-dumping duty ranging from $114 to $3,801 per tonne, to be valid for five years, has been levied by Finance Ministry on imports of Stainless Steel Seamless Tubes and Pipes from China to protect the domestic economy.

January 2, 2023

Valid for five years, the anti-dumping duty imposed

on imports of Stainless Steel Seamless Tubes and Pipes from China ranges from $114 to $3,801 per tonne depending on the producer.

An anti-dumping duty is imposed to protect local businesses and markets from unfair competition by foreign imports. It is a tariff imposed on imports of goods manufactured overseas priced below the fair market value of similar goods in the domestic market.

In September 2022, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) in the Commerce Ministry recommended imposition of anti dumping duty on Stainless Steel Seamless Tubes and Pipes from China. The DGTR concluded that these products were exported at dumped prices to India, affecting the domestic economy.

DGTR had initiated the investigation after Chandan Steel Ltd, Tubacex Prakash India Pvt Ltd, and Welspun Specialty Solutions Ltd had sought anti-dumping probe on this product from China. The Government's move to impose anti-dumping duty would benefit domestic players like Ratnamani Metals and Tubes and Venus Pipes, according to industry experts.

TMK Artrom Acquired by Hefestos Capital; Renamed 'Artrom Steel Tubes'

Leading pipe company TMK Artrom announced a change in the ownership of the company, appointment of a new Board of Directors as well as renaming

March 15, 2023

TMK Artrom, one of the leading pipe companies in

Europe with operations in Romania in Reșița and Slatina, has recently been acquired by Hefestos

of the company to Artrom Steel Tubes, following acquisition by investment banking company Hefestos Capital. The Artrom Group along with its companies is now owned by the Serbian cofounders of Hefestos Capital, Milutin Nikolic and Pavle Kavran.

Capital, a Serbian investment banking company, and renamed Artrom Steel Tubes. Hefestos Capital has purchased shares from TMK Group (PAO TMK) held in the German company TMK Europe GmbH, which is the majority shareholder of TMK Artrom SA. The acquisition involved renaming of the companies as well as appointment of a new Board of Directors.

The new beneficial owners of the Artrom Group and its companies in Romania, Italy and the USA are Serbian

co-founders of Hefestos Capital, Milutin Nikolic and Pavle Kavran. These companies are no longer part of the TMK Group. The transaction has also been certified by the competent authority in Germany, the new beneficial owners have been registered with the Romanian Trade Register and all relevant Romanian authorities have already been informed.

BMW Industries Inaugurates Tube Mill, Signs Contract with Tata Steel for MS Pipes Conversion

Kolkata-based steel producer BMW Industries Limited recently inaugurated their tube mill at NH-6 unit, Kolkata. The company has signed a contract for MS Pipes conversion at the new mill with Tata Steel, with the trial runs scheduled to begin in March 2023. The contract involves the conversion of 40,000 tons of MS Pipes, leading the mill to generate a potential additional revenue of INR 15 crore over the duration of nine months till November 2023.

March 14, 2023

Steel Producer BMW Industries Limited recently

announced that the company has successfully inaugurated its Tube Mill at NH-6 unit, Kolkata. BMWIL has signed a prestigious agreement with Tata Steel for the conversion of MS Pipes at this facility and the trial runs are scheduled to begin in March 2023. The facility was inaugurated by senior management of Tata Steel, Mr. Rajeev Singhal, Vice President Marketing & Sales, Flat Products which is a proud event for BMWIL. The contract will involve the conversion of 40,000 tons of MS Pipes which will ramp-up BMWIL's capacity at optimal utilization with a potential conversion revenue of Rs. 15 crores over the contract duration of nine months till November 2023; with a renewal clause.

Mr. R.G. Bansal, Chairman & Executive Director of BMWIL, commenting on the new mill and contract said “We are delighted to announce that BMWIL has successfully inaugurated its Tube Mill facility together with committed orders of MS pipe conversion orders from Tata Steel, enabling us to operate at optimum capacity utilization from the very beginning of the operations.”

Baoshan Iron & Steel to Equip a KOCKS RSB

300++/4 in 5.0 design at new Shanghai Rolling Mill

Subsidiary of world's leading steel producer Baosteel group, Baoshan Iron and Steel Company Limited has decided to equip a KOCKS Reducing & Sizing Block in its new combined bar in a coil/wire rod mill based in Shanghai, China. Through this investment, Baoshan Iron and Steel is continuing the 10 years cooperation between the two companies as well as looking forward to meeting customer requirements for specialty steel.

March 9, 2023

China-based steel producer Baoshan Iron & Steel

Company Limited has decided on a KOCKS Reducing & Sizing Block 300+/4 in 5.0 design to equip its new combined bar in its new coil/wire rod mill in ® Shanghai, China. The latest generation RSB 300++/4 will be located as a finishing unit after 14 stands in H/V arrangement in a 600.000 t/a combined SBQ bar in coil ® and wire rod mill. The RSB will manufacture bars in coil within a dimension of Ø 18.00 to 50.00 mm and feeders for the wire rod line to finish dimensions of Ø 7.5 to 28.0 mm. It comes with a remote control for stand and guide adjustments, equipment for the rollshop and KOCKS proprietary software solutions.

Baoshan Iron & Steel's decision to invest in a KOCKS Reducing & Sizing Block of the latest generation also

continues the successful cooperation of 10 years between the two companies, having started with the ® major investment into a RSB 370/4 for the combined high-capacity SBQ rolling mill “Shanghai No. 5”. This new addition to the company's mill will also further expand the company's business activities by meeting the customer's requirements for specialty steel in different dimensions.

Acquire Land in Bengal for GAIL's INR 12,940 Crore Gas Pipeline Projects

Centre to

Centre has recently issued land acquisition notifications to Purba Medinipur and Cooch Behar in Bengal for development of GAIL's ongoing projects of Jagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL) and a spur pipeline as well as the Barauni-Guwahati Natural Gas Pipeline (BGPL), respectively. The project will ensure supply of natural gas to the industrial, commercial, domestic and transport sectors in five states — Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha; and has been provided a viability gap funding in the form of a grant for 40 percent of the estimated capital cost of Rs 12,940 crore.

March 15, 2023

The Indian government has issued notices for

acquisition of land in two regions of Bengal for the development of two gas pipeline projects. Land has been sought in Purba Medinipur for the JagdishpurHaldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL) and a spur pipeline, and in Cooch Behar for the Barauni –Guwahati Natural Gas Pipeline (BGPL).The project will ensure supply of natural gas to the industrial, commercial, domestic and transport sectors in five

states — Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. The land owners will get 21 days to file any objection; thereafter GAIL, which will construct the pipeline, will start the acquisition process.

The JHBDPL natural gas pipeline will connect the eastern parts of India with the national gas transmission network and land would be acquired at Barabari, Chaulkhola, Shovarampur, Barbajitpur and Kismat

Shibramnagar in Purba Medinipur. The 729 km-long Barauni-Guwahati pipeline in Cooch Behar will link the seven north-eastern states to the national gas grid via JHBDPL and land would be acquired at the Falimari, Chhat Bara Chowki, Kankanguri, Gopalpur, Nata Bari, Chhoto Simulguri, Dhalpal, Bararangras and Kalarayerkuthi villages. The Centre has approved viability gap funding in the form of a grant for 40 percent of the estimated capital cost of Rs 12,940 crore.

GAIL lays down 80% of India's First Gas Pipeline along Highway

The leading natural gas company of India has taken on this first-of-its-kind project, constructing India's first natural gas pipeline connecting gas supply of multiple states through a highway.

February 14, 2023

Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is more than

halfway through its novel project to construct India's first natural gas pipeline to run along an express highway. The route for the pipeline is designed to run along the Samruddhi Mahamarg and will connect Mumbai to Nagpur and extend to Jharsuguda, Odisha. Anonymous sources report that GAIL has also received the approval for extending the pipeline from Nagpur to Jharsuguda. With gas pipelines running parallel to a highway, this project is the first of its kind in India, as most pipeline projects run across the country and cut through private lands.

The unique project has also faced certain challenges. According to sources, the project was initiated in August 2022 and was expected to be completed in 3 to 4 months. However, the construction process is facing

some technical issues which are being discussed and resolved by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). Currently, the process is almost 80% complete, as the pipeline has been laid over 530km, out of the area of more than 680km to be covered from Mumbai. Haryana City Gas- a gas distributor which has the gas supply contract for Nagpur- has been in talks with GAIL to secure supply in Nagpur.

Indian Gas Pipeline Network to Reach 35,000 Kilometers

Mr. Narendra Modi stated that in the next four to five years Indian gas pipeline network will scale to 35,000 kilometers from the current 22,000 kilometers.

February 6, 2023

Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India,

shared with his audience, in his recent public address, that the Indian gas pipeline grid will scale to approximately 35,000 kilometers in length in the upcoming four to five years.

Natural gas is one of most primary energy sources that various Indian consumers, including households, use for their end objectives. Since natural gas is a natural resource, its regulation and distribution circuit needs to be authorized by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).

PNGRB had authorized the expansion of the current

gas pipeline grid, approximately 22,000 kilometers, to about 35,000 kilometers. Although it will take India another four to five years to achieve its target, the energy resource will prove a boon to many consumer

and industrial stakeholders in India.

The Government of India has already released funds close to INR 4,500 crore in the execution of the project.

INR 377.08 Crore investment for 130 km long 1 Million Metric TPA Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline

The international oil pipeline, with a capacity of one million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), will receive INR 91.84 crore for the India portion of the pipeline, while an additional INR 285.24 crore is being funded by the Indian government for the Bangladesh portion.

January 8, 2023

The Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL), with a

length of 130 km and constructed at INR 377.08 crore, is expected to be commissioned in February. The fuel will be carried by the international oil pipeline, IBFPL, from Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited's (NRL) marketing terminal at Siliguri in West Bengal to the Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). The initiation ceremony for the 130-km IBFPL was held in September 2018, with the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh present through video conferencing.

The total project cost for construction of the IBFPL is INR 377.08 crore. Out of this, NRL's investment is INR 91.84 crore for the India portion of the pipeline, while the

remaining INR 285.24 crore for Bangladesh portion is being funded by the Indian government as grant-in-aid.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting with Hasina in 2017 had agreed to finance this pipeline with a capacity of one million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA). A recent report states that Bangladesh will start importing gas and oil from NRL later this year.

CAPS' 6,500km Pipeline Project in First Phase of Progress, says Lima

The project, approved by a coalition of Central African nations last September, will include a pipeline system and a hub infrastructure, along with liquefied natural gas terminal, storage depots, gas-fired power plants, and refineries.

January 25, 2023

n a recent meeting organized by the African Energy Chambers, the Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons in Equatorial Guinea H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima gave an update on the progress and timeline of the 6,500km pipeline project of the Central Africa Pipeline System (CAPS). The Minister shared that Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea are working on the first phase, which will connect through Chad. “The DRC would

Iconnect through Angola and Central Africa, as they are already providing products through that direction. Congo-Brazzaville is developing an FPSO for liquefied natural gas, which in the future, will need to be connected with a pipeline,” Lima said.

Though the project is a great initiative towards the right direction, the Minister mentioned funding to be Africa's biggest challenge in the hydrocarbon sector expansion. The project is expected to start from 2030. This innovative initiative by CAPS will start a new era in the intra-African energy trade and security, as it will help reduce the energy poverty in Africa.

India Leads USD 533.6 billion Global Gas Pipeline Development; 14,300 km of Pipelines in Construction

According to a recent survey, India and China are leading the global gas pipelines development with a total estimated cost of USD 533.6 billion in capital expenditure, building more gas transmission pipelines than the rest of the world combined. The two countries are reported to be leading a 9 percent year-on-year increase in the length of pipelines under construction on a global scale.

March 15, 2023

India and China are reportedly leading builders of

gas pipelines on a global level, according to data from Global Energy Monitor. According to the yearend data survey for 2022, China currently has 17,800 km of gas pipelines under construction at the estimated cost of USD 21.9 billion. Whereas, India reportedly has 14,300 km of gas pipelines under construction with an estimated cost of USD 20.7 billion, with a distance circling over three quarters of Earth.

On a global level, there are 59,100 km of gas transmission pipelines under construction and an additional 151,300 km of proposed pipelines.The estimated capital expenditure for these pipelines is USD 533.6 billion. The top five countries in terms of in-

development pipelines, both proposed and under construction, are China, Russia, India, Australia, and the United States. India's longest pipeline project till date is the 2,655 km long Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL), developed by GAIL.

Indian Oil Set to Invest INR 2,200 Crore for Multiple Expansion Projects in Tamil Nadu

Indian Oil Corporation has lined up INR 2,200 crore as investment in Tamil Nadu for the next 2 years, as an initiative towards taking up major foundation and expansion projects in the state. The investment focuses on the LPG bottling plant near Kinathukadavu on the outskirts about its LPG storage and distribution infrastructure. It includes various projects like 'grass-roots terminal' at Asanur and Vallur, 'captive petroleum' project, oil and lubricant-LPG jetty at Kamarajar port among others. Indian Oil-Phinergy joint venture is also due to be ready in the next six months.

February 2, 2023

India's leading integrated oil company, Indian Oil

Corporation is prepared to invest over INR 2,200 crore in Tamil Nadu in the next 2 years, as an initiative towards taking up major foundation and expansion projects in the state. Mr. VC Asokan, Indian Oil Corporation Limited's executive director and Tamil Nadu state head expresses that the projects consist of 'grass-roots terminal' at Asanur and Vallur, 'captive petroleum' project, oil and

lubricant-LPG jetty at Kamarajar port among others. The company also plans to take up the task of setting up the integrated Lube complex at Ammulaivoyyal village on the outskirts of Chennai, apart from the ongoing projects in the EnnoreThiruvallur sector, Bengaluru-PuducherryNagapattinam-Madurai-Turicorin gas pipeline and augmentation of Chennai-Tiruchirappali-Madurai pipeline projects.

Indian Oil's joint venture with Israel technology

company Phinergy to manufacture and commercialize aluminum-air technology as an alternative of Lithium battery would be ready in another six months and they recently signed a tripartite agreement, he said. The company has achieved 10 per cent ethanol blending with petrol in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and was working towards increasing it to 20 per cent in line with the Centre's mandate.

Study Proposes 1000 km Hydrogen Pipeline to serve Oman

The report of the key feasibility study envisions a pipeline dedicated to carrying hydrogen running through Oman from North to South, with a flow rate of 2million m3/hour of hydrogen. The report also mentions building a second pipeline is energy supply reaches levels while demand is high.

January 29, 2023

Asyad Group, the integrated logistics provider of the

Sultanate of Oman, recently commissioned a study which has shown the potential for developing a dedicated hydrogen pipeline to be produced in the central and southern parts of the country to consumption centers in the north. The Oman Hydrogen Center (OHC) and Dii Desert Energy were involved in releasing a collaborative report titled “Potential of the Hydrogen Transition for Ports in the Sultanate of Oman”.

The report states that a dedicated hydrogen pipeline can become a possibility if gas-based power generation plants and certain industries switch from

natural gas to low emission hydrogen. In this regard, the report mentions the potential for an approximately 1000km long pipeline, with 40-42 inch diameter; running through Oman from south to north. The pipe would carry roughly 500,000 tonnes of hydrogen/annum.

The report estimates the investment costs for the pipeline to be around USD 3 billion; however the costs could be reduced by using existing pipeline networks, particularly those owned and operated by OQ Gas Networks (OQGN). OQGN is reportedly considering the feasibility of repurposing its vast pipeline network to enable the transportation of a blend of natural gas and hydrogen.

Government to invest additional INR 10,000 Crore for developments in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Union Minister, Mr. L Murugan recently spoke about the government's investments for the development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with INR 30,000 crore already invested in the last eight years and INR 10,000 crore planned for future investment. The minister shared that nearly 62,000 water connections have been provided and more than 95 per cent work for 1,338 houses under the PM Awas Yojana is complete.

2nd January, 2023

In a recent press conference at Port Blair, Union

Minister L Murugan shared the government's largescale investments towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands' development, as part of the proposed mega infrastructure project on the Great Nicobar Island. The MoS for Information and Broadcasting said that the government has invested INR 30,000 crore in the last eight years in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with investments of over INR 10,000 crore in the pipeline. A transshipment hub, a greenfield international airport, a township and a diesel/solar power plant have been planned as part of the proposed mega infrastructure project on the Great Nicobar Island.

The minister expressed satisfaction with the implementation of central projects by the local administration, sharing that nearly 62,000 water connections have been provided and more than 95 per

cent work for 1,338 houses under the PM Awas Yojana is complete.Mr. Murugan stated that the development in Andaman and Nicobar Islands will not only generate a lot of employment opportunities for the local youths, but will also boost the economy of this place. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are committed to the development of Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” he said.

India-Myanmar-Bangladesh LNG Pipe Connectivity to Boost India's Hydrocarbon Vision 2030

Potential pipeline connectivity between the three countries can accelerate India's Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North-east India, as the government plans to make the North-east a hub of oil and gas transit.

January 30, 2023

India is planning Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) pipeline connectivity with the countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh, in an attempt to ensure energy security as well as counter China's dominance. A proposal was initially discussed to connect the countries through a gas pipeline, however the plan was canceled as Myanmar went ahead with a pipeline to China. However, after the unstable energy markets due to the Ukraine war and guided by the Act East policy, India is again extending efforts to connect the gas grids of the three nations.

An official, familiar with the initiative, stated that “Pipeline connectivity with the eastern neighbors is being looked at as both the countries have large gas reserves and they should be willing to sell their produce.” Estimates from 2021 show that Myanmar's reserves of natural gas stood at 22.5 trillion cubic feet. Although Bangladesh is facing a decline in its reserves, the government in Dhaka is making efforts to increase its reserves, taking up more exploration activities

across the country.

According to officials, the strategy is connecting the pipeline with the North East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid, which is operated by the Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL) in Tripura. Queries sent to the ministries of petroleum, external affairs, the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi and the embassy of Myanmar have been met with no response yet.

Sharpe Products Contracts BLM Group for Two Laser Cutting Systems at Wisconsin, US Facility

Sharpe Products, US, has contracted BLM Group for two new LT7 4-kW laser cutting systems to aid their tube bending machine, also supplied by BLM Group, at their New Berlin, Wisconsin, US facility. The new systems will replace the company's existing 1-kW and 3-kW cutting systems.

March 17, 2023

Sharpe Products has contracted BLM Group to

supply two new laser cutting systems for its New Berlin, Wisconsin, US, facility. The laser cutting systems are graded as LT7 4-kW and will replace the company's 1-kW and 3-kW powered cutting systems. The facility already houses BLM supplied tube bending machine, which shall be supported by the new systems to cut cuts round, square, rectangle, and open profile pipe or tube up to 6 inches in diameter.

The LT7 operating software easily supports multiple operations and is equipped with weld-seam detection, which helps to assure the best-cut quality and meet the functionality or aesthetic needs of the part. The systems are equipped with a more efficient centering cycle that ensures consistency, and reduction in per part

production time. Additionally, the laser is equipped with a 3D cutting head to create true, knife-edged bevels, copes, or miters that may be needed for weld prep or other features required for customer part specifications. The replacements are slated to be installed in Q2FY23.

Mr. Paul Krickeberg, President & CEO of Sharpe Products, commented on the deal, “It is our company's philosophy to invest in machine technology to accommodate a broad range of job specifications and to offer short lead times”.

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