Michigan Seamless Tube (MST), manufacturer of high quality carbon and alloy seamless cold drawn pipe and tube, announced that its parent company Optima Specialty Steel has committed USD 25M in capital to expand MST’s operations and increase production capacity.
As part of the capital improvement project, MST will use USD 19M to fund the acquisition of a highly specialized cold pilger mill and the construction of a new facility to house the mill. The 14,400 sq.ft building will also accommodate the related tools and processing equipment required to fully integrate the mill into the production process.
The remaining USD 6M will be used to purchase a new 377ft atmosphere-controlled furnace.
MST said that the state-of-the-art furnace would improve the material flow and reduce production time. Together, the new mill and furnace will diversify the company’s product line, allowing it to expand its operational footprint.
Les Whitver, VP Operations for MST, said, “The introduction of a new cold pilger mill and atmosphere-controlled furnace enables us to expand our already robust tube and pipe offerings while simultaneously increasing our capacity by an additional 700 tonne to 1,300 tonne of product each month.”
Meanwhile, MST anticipates the new furnace will commence operations in April 2014. The cold pilger mill is projected to be operational in early 2015.
