SMS group www.sms-group.com has been granted the final acceptance certificate for the new 12 ¾-inch ERW (Electric Resistance Welding) welded tube line installed at Huta Łabędy´s works in Gliwice, Poland. The plant is designed to produce tubes with diameters from 4 ½ inches to 12 ¾ inches, wall thicknesses from 3 to 12.7 millimeters, and lengths of up to 18 meters. Thus it is the largest and the most advanced plant in Poland designed to manufacture electro-resistance welded tubes with longitudinal seam.

The finished products are high-precision and thick-walled tubes for pressure applications in thermal engineering and for conveying fuels and other energy carriers. Also structural square and rectangular sections will be produced.

By establishing the new production plant for precision tubing, including the new ERW welded tube line and the API tube finishing facility, Huta Łabędy is now in a position to enter new markets for thick-walled precision tubes with extremely high tensile strengths.

SMS group supplied all technical equipment and was responsible for installation and commissioning. The ERW welded tube line for Huta Łabędy was supplied as a tailor-made all-inclusive package featuring state-of-the-art technology. With the horizontal quick-change system, Huta Łabędy will be able to achieve a productivity by more than 30 percent compared to conventional quick-change systems. The computer-controlled CSS-Quicksetting® system ensures that the rolls are automatically adjusted to their proper working positions when a size change is to be carried out.

The tubes produced meet the requirements of very exacting standards such as API 5L for line pipes and EN 10219 for round, square and rectangular structurals.

Grzegorz Lukas, Deputy President of the Managing Board at Huta Łabędy: “Thanks to our new tube mill, we are able to expand our product range – and that with improved cost efficiency. Our new mill is one of the most advanced plants of its kind. By implementing the most innovative technologies, for instance the quick-change system, unsurpassed flexibility is achieved.”