Multi-talented HFI-welded steel pipe
Use as a technically and economically optimal solution
Strong, durable, versatile and sustainable – just a few of the many attributes that our HFI-welded steel pipe comes with.
Over time, a wide range of products has evolved with innovative applications in numerous sectors and application areas. In this issue, we take selected examples to show you how our customers use multi-talented HFI-welded steel pipe as a technically and economically optimal solution.
Applications and uses
How we lay the foundations for tomorrow today with our H2ready products. >>> read more
With the new Wolfswinkel Stadium, Freiburg football it is finally getting a new home. "Big reception for a special club." >>> read more
... are employed in the most varied industrial sectors around the globe. How our customers and partners profit from our new sales concept you can read here
Economic efficiency in a new dimension: In the South China Sea, pipes with a wall thickness of 17.5 mm were used for the first time. >>> read more
In our article about the Eemshaven drinking and service water pipeline you can read, why Google depends not only on electricity, but on water as well. >>> read more
In Southern France, our HFI-welded steel pipes are helping to protect a highly sensitive natural landscape. >>> read more
Multi-talented HFI-welded steel pipe
Every pipe from Mannesmann Line Pipe starts as steel strip in a wide range of grades. On its way to becoming steel pipe, it undergoes the production process of high-frequency induction (HFI) resistance pressure welding at Mannesmann Line Pipe.
From rectangle to circle
The strip material is formed on rolling stands into an endless open pipe. The strip edges are then pressed together by pressure rollers in a high-frequency induction welding process and homogeneously welded to form a longitudinal seam. The weld upset is then immediately removed down to the pipe level internally and externally. This is followed by a multi-step inductive heat treatment of the HFI weld to adapt it as closely as possible to the base material.
Mannesmann quality
During the next process steps, the pipe string is straightened, calibrated and finally cut by a flying saw into single pipe lengths of 18 m. "That sounds simple in theory, but in practice it means an enormous amount of work," says Jochen Berkemeier, plant manager at the Hamm site for the last 15 years. "There is a tremendous amount of experience and technical expertise involved, which all customers ultimately benefit from. Depending on the composition and quality of the strip material, standard or individual high-end tubes are produced to customer specifications. Particularly when the technical specifications require further Q&T full-body annealing, the pipes are individually coated or lined, or the pipe ends are machined to customer specifications.
"Premium Line Pipe" sets new standard
Standard production does not automatically mean basic quality. "The opposite is sometimes the case," says Konrad Thannbichler. Since there used to be a wide variety of customer requirements in the production of pipes for gas pipelines, for example, the company decided to establish its own in-house production standard. "So we packed all the specific and sometimes exotic requirements of the largest European gas customers into a single pipe." In concrete terms, this now means that production is carried out with a high-quality material that complies equally well with the requirements and test certificates of all customers in the European gas pipeline sector." In doing so, Mannesmann Line Pipe has set a new – albeit very high – premium standard,” the sales manager continues.
Products with an inbuilt future
In cooperation with customers, and research and network partners, numerous new application possibilities have evolved in recent years – in the field of renewable energies, secondary oil production, in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector and in structural tubes with the new MHQ grades, for example. The most recent developments are those in the hydrogen sector and for wall thicknesses of 20 mm for the Zap-Lok™ pipe-laying process.
From product to system
"Although we have an enormous spectrum of products and versions for a huge diversity of industries and users, we always think in terms of system solutions for our customers,” says Thannbichler, extending his vision from the product range to the "overall package" that Mannesmann Line Pipe offers its customers. Starting with customer advice, choosing the technically and economically most sensible product, through to the coating or lining, the most suitable jointing system and the ideal laying method. "This is rounded off by our global logistics and on-site services. In this way, we continuously support our customers from the initial inquiry through to installation or commissioning and start-up."