ERW tube mill, Zekelman Industries (USA)

Zekelman Industries and SMS group write record history at the Blytheville site in USA with the world’s largest continuous 28-inch ERW tube welding line with a wall thickness of up to 25.4 millimeters. The highly automated ERW tube welding line has been ordered in April 2019 and is in operation since mid-2021. With a capacity of more than 400,000 tons per year, the new 28-inch plant within Zekelman Industries will complement its Atlas Tube division.

Since the commissioning of the 28-inch ERW tube welding line at Zekelman’s Blytheville site in mid 2021, structural and piling tubes are manufactured with diameters ranging from 10 3/4 inches to 28 inches (273 to 710mm) and wall thicknesses of up to 1 inch (25.4mm). In addition, it is possible to produce square and rectangular hollow sections with dimensions of 8 inches x 8 inches (203.2mm x 203.2mm) up to 22 inches x 22 inches (558.2mm x 558.2mm) or 34 inches x 10 inches( 863.6mm x 254mm) .

For the North American market, this means a more diverse product range for HSS (Hollow Structural Sections) products that find various end uses in infrastructure and building construction. Moreover, with this line, Zekelman Industries is also able to produce products larger than 20 inches domestically for the first time on an ERW tube welding line.

Benefits:

• Continuous 28-inch ERW tube welding line with a wall thickness of up to 25.4 millimeters
• PERFECT arc^® cross welding process developed by SMS group
• Computer-controlled X-Pact^® Quicksetting system for an automatic adjustment of the rolls to their new working position after a size change
• For the first time ever, automated horizontal roll changing is also being carried out for a plant larger than 16 inches by means of change carriages – this shortens change-over time and increases the operating time and thus the production capacity