When Stainless Steel World met with the team at Mannesmann Stainless Tubes, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were still evident.
From company HQ in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, Christophe Le Rigoleur (Group Managing Director) and Patrik Schraven (Global KAM Power Gen) described how the company weathered the storm; and how it is expanding its already-dominant presence in the power generation industry.
Pride in how their team triumphed against adversity, and gratitude to the solidarity of their business partners, was evident from the moment the conversation started.
The team now feels ready to take on the world and whatever the future may bring.
CoEx tubes are created during a hot forming operation which creates a strong metallurgical bond between the pipe liners and pipes.
Mannesmann Stainless Tubes
Back on track after closure Every company in the stainless steel industry has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Mannesmann Stainless Tubes team openly shared the impact on theirbusiness.
“It’s clear that the pandemic took the world by surprise,” begins Mr. Le Rigoleur. “Our production plant in Costa Volpino, Italy, is located in one of the most affected regions and was closed for three weeks before resuming activities with safety measures in place. Fortunately, our other facilities in Germany, France and Houston remained open.
It’s thanks to the strong commitment and professionalism of our staff that we were able to be back working at full capacity across the company very quickly.”
Biomass and waste-to-energy
Biomass and waste-to-energy MST is a proven supplier of superheater tubes for corrosion critical applications, from standard and optimised grades such as DMV 347HFG (1.4908; UNS S34710) to the more specialised DMV 310N (1.4952; UNS S31042) and DMV AC66 (UNS S33224/ EN 1.4877). DMV AC66 was developed primarily for use in waste-to-energy plants and is today the ‘standard’ material for those and biomass plants.
“An important milestone was the development of A625 weld overlay on a supercritical austenitic stainless steel for Ultra Super Critical applications,”
explains Mr. Schraven. “This created a product with exceptionally high corrosion resistance capable of withstanding high steam temperatures.
Many waste-to-energy and biomass plants utilise weld overlay on carbon steel or alloyed steel because the process temperature is not high enough to require an austenitic material. However, there is an increasing tendency for operators to increase the amount of energy they produce by raising the operating temperature. The resulting higher steam temperatures create oxidation on the inside of the tube, and therefore we expect a move to use austenitic stainless steel base tubes.”
“We’re currently involved in a project with German waste-to-energy boilers to test the limits of various alloys to develop a customer and applicationdriven solution.”
There are three different types of biomass plants in use, Mr. Schraven explains.
“Firstly, coal-fired plants which have been refurbished and converted to biomass plants; we have quite some experience with these, particularly in Scandinavia. Secondly, there is a growing tendency, particularly in Europe, to mix coal or lignite with Refuse Derived Fuels (RDFs). The chloride and/or sulphur content in the fuel creates a higher corrosion rate; we are testing and optimising our alloys to withstand this highly corrosive environment.”
Summing Up
In conclusion, Mr. Le Rigoleur returned to the lessons learned from the Covid-19 crisis. “The incredible reaction of our MST staff and business partners to the situation was a golden opportunity to witness how solid our organisation is; even in the worst affected location, we were able to stay in contact with our customers. We were able to maintain our order book, while the staff organised themselves quickly to continue working and serving our customers. I’d also like to give a special thanks to our raw material suppliers who displayed true team spirit to ensure continuity of supply. MST is now confident that no future upheavals will halt work here. We’re ready for whatever the future may hold.”
In conclusion, Mr. Le Rigoleur returned to the lessons learned from the Covid-19 crisis. “The incredible reaction of our MST staff and business partners to the situation was a golden opportunity to witness how solid our organisation is; even in the worst affected location, we were able to stay in contact with our customers. We were able to maintain our order book, while the staff organised themselves quickly to continue working and serving our customers. I’d also like to give a special thanks to our raw material suppliers who displayed true team spirit to ensure continuity of supply. MST is now confident that no future upheavals will halt work here. We’re ready for whatever the future may hold.”
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