The new pilger machine for cold working 8–38mm precision tubes has come on line at stainless steel tubemaker TPS-Technitube Röhrenwerke GmbH. This machine is the major part of a EUR 3.5 million investment in new facilities at the works, which also includes a roll-grinder and a complete new cutting line. Because the throughput speed is three or four times faster than conventional equipment, the tube output by weight is about 3000 tons per year. SMS Meer in Mönchengladbach has designed and constructed the cold pilger machine, where certain modifications were made in co-operation with TPS. With this investment, TPS is now the biggest manufacturer of cold finished stainless steel heat exchanger and hydraulic tubes in Germany. For heat exchanger application, TPS is one of the first approved manufacturer accredited to the new Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC under LRQA certificate CЄ 0525 in Germany. On a total area of 60.000 sqm TPS runs production mills and stocking areas for seamless heat exchanger tubes, tubings and OCTG tubings, casings and cross overs. For shutdown service in refineries, TPS is also stocking heat exchanger tubes in carbon steel, alloy steel, aluminium- admiralty brass, and copper nickel.
