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TMK upgrades pipe heat treatment equipment at PNTZ

TMK will spend more than RUB 500 million to upgrade pipe heat treatment equipment at Pervouralsk Pipe Plant (PNTZ), enabling the plant to reduce resource consumption and expand its size range of high-tech products.

During phase one retrofit, a roller hearth furnace in a tube drawing shop has already been upgraded. The new advanced technology allowed, in particular, to decrease the lower temperature limit in the furnace by 200 degrees. The plant can now produce new product types with required mechanical properties to Russian and European quality standards: ball bearing, precision and other pipes, including for the aviation, space and automotive industries.

As part of the upgrade, the furnace was also equipped with a new digital process control system that runs a comprehensive equipment diagnostic and automatically adjusts the temperature parameters. PNTZ plans to upgrade two more furnaces in its tube drawing shops in 2021.

“TMK continuously invests in retrofitting its facilities, improving operational efficiency, enhancing quality and expanding its product mix to meet the most stringent modern requirements. By upgrading the heat treatment equipment, PNTZ will reduce consumption of shielding and natural gas by 1.5–2 times, which will improve the plant’s environmental performance while bringing significant economic benefits. The RUB 60 million phase one upgrade is expected to generate annual savings of RUB 47 million and additional revenue due to new product types. Upon the completion of our RUB 500 million investment program, these figures will increase significantly,” said Vyacheslav Popkov, TMK’s First Deputy CEO – Chief Engineer.