Timken Expands Long-Length Steel Tubing Size Capability
The Timken Company announced today it has gained new sales after expanding its capabilities to produce long-length steel tubing to meet a customer's request. Houston-based Dril-Quip Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of highly engineered offshore drilling and production equipment, has placed orders totaling approximately $2 million after encouraging Timken to expand its product offering and produce hot-rolled, quenched and tempered seamless tubing up to 37 feet long.
Dril-Quip turned to Timken in search of a U.S. manufacturer to provide long-length tube for its deepwater riser systems. For this application, Dril-Quip requested the tubing for the choke and kill lines, used in deepwater and ultra-deepwater riser systems that connect the drilling rig to the ocean floor. The riser system will be used to drill in up to 10,000 feet, or nearly two miles, of water. The long-length seamless tubing minimizes the number of connections, thereby reducing construction costs.
In response to the request, Timken’s Gambrinus steel plant in Canton underwent equipment and manufacturing modifications in 2006 to expand the maximum length of tube produced. The modifications increased tubing length from 31 feet to 37 feet, quenched and tempered. The changes expanded Timken’s tube offering from Range 2 (25 to 34 feet) to some of the Range 3 (34 to 48 feet lengths), as the industry commonly classifies steel tubes.
The first order for 29,000 feet of tubing was shipped in late 2006. It was heat-treated to survive the harsh deepwater environment.
“This is a prime example of the company’s focus on improving our customers’ performance through collaboration and manufacturing expertise," said Ken Heil, principal steel sales engineer for Timken. "Whether it’s a product we already make or an opportunity to expand our portfolio to serve a unique customer application, we’ll work to get the job done. Dril-Quip came to us with a new challenge, and the end result was a win-win situation for both companies.”
”We’ve relied on alloy bar materials from Timken for years, so when we had a need for high-quality tubing, we went to them and made the request,” said Pete Silcox, buyer for Dril-Quip. “Timken was able to meet our timeframe and provide the quality we needed. In addition, their technical background has been very helpful to us for this and all our production matters.”
Timken’s expansion in tube length has led to additional orders with Dril-Quip and created the opportunity for other new business in the United States and abroad.
“This is an example of the ’can-do’ attitude at Timken,” said Ron Balyint, who managed Timken’s Gambrinus steel plant during the expansion. “We had not produced tube of this length, but the customer encouraged us to pursue this growth opportunity, and we tackled it with enthusiasm.”
About Dril-Quip Inc.
Dril-Quip Inc. is a leading manufacturer of highly engineered offshore drilling and production equipment, which is well-suited for use in deepwater, harsh environment and severe service applications.
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