News Flash
MERTEX UK will bring fresh order volumes, and are planning further investment in Rohrwerk Maxhütte.
Rohrwerk Maxhütte has found a white knight in Mertex UK, a distributor of pipe and other steel and metals related products, Kallanish notes.
Rohrwerk Maxhütte, located in the Franconia region of northern Bavaria, has been threatened with closure several times over the last 20 years, after the shutdown of its blast furnace in the 1990s. In December last year, it filed for insolvency again. The mill makes seamless pipe mainly for the automotive, shipbuilding, and offshore industries. Its annual revenue is reportedly around €100 million ($102m), achieved with a staff of 460.
Mertex UK Limited is a privately-owned company, registered in England and Wales. It describes itself as a leading, diversified, natural resources group with renowned specialised activity in trading, manufacturing and processing of line pipe, and OCTG such as casing, tubing and drill pipe.
On its website, it briefly announces the asset purchase agreement with Rohrwerk Maxhütte. It says the lines it is acquiring produce hot-finished tube with 21.3-139.7mm outside diameter and 2.3-13mm wall thickness, as well as cold-finished tube with 4-120mm outside diameter and 1-11mm wall thickness.
TMK Supplying 15,000 Metric Tons of Pipe to New Project in Turkmenistan
Volzhsky Pipe Plant and Chelyabinsk Pipe Plant, both part of TMK, will be shipping the large-diameter high-strength pipes with an external insulation coating to Türkmengaz, TMK announced yesterday in a press release. The pipes will be used to transport natural gas from existing gas fields to the new Zerger plant.
“Central Asia, where major energy projects are being stepped up, is a priority market for TMK. As part of cooperation with Turkmenistan, TMK’s plants have been successfully supplying pipe and tubular products for many years to the fuel and energy sector, and the power industry of the country. A new contract for the supply of high-tech products to Türkmengaz, the state-owned company responsible for power generation, transmission and distribution, will promote the development of Turkmenistan’s energy infrastructure and expand its export potential. We plan to fully deliver under the contract as early as 2021,” said Denis Prikhodko, TMK’s director of sales.
Worldwide steel production
| Crude steel production by region | |||||
| Jul 2021 (Mt) | % change Jul 21/20 | Jan-Jul 2021 (Mt) | % change Jan-Jul 21/20 | ||
| Africa | 1.3 | 36.9 | 9.3 | 29.2 | |
| Asia and Oceania | 116.4 | -2.5 | 853.0 | 10.9 | |
| CIS | 9.2 | 11.2 | 62.5 | 9.0 | |
| EU (27) | 13.0 | 30.3 | 90.8 | 20.1 | |
| Europe, Other | 4.1 | 4.6 | 29.3 | 15.6 | |
| Middle East | 3.6 | 9.2 | 25.3 | 10.0 | |
| North America | 10.2 | 36.0 | 68.7 | 18.7 | |
| South America | 3.8 | 19.6 | 26.4 | 26.3 | |
| Total 64 countries | 161.7 | 3.3 | 1,165.3 | 12.4 | |
The 64 countries included in this table accounted for approximately 98% of total world crude steel production in 2020.
Regions and countries covered by the table:
- Africa: Egypt, Libya, South Africa
- Asia and Oceania: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan (China), Vietnam
- CIS: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
- European Union (27)
- Europe, Other: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, United Kingdom
- Middle East: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
- North America: Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, United States
- South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
World Steel in Figures 2021
World steel pipe production in July 2021
- Africa produced 1.3 Mt in July 2021, up 36.9% on July 2020.
- Asia and Oceania produced 116.4 Mt, down 2.5%.
- The CIS produced 9.2 Mt, up 11.2%.
- The EU (27) produced 1.0 Mt, up 30.3%. Europe,
- Other produced 4.1 Mt, up 4.6%
- The Middle East produced 3.6 Mt, up 9.2%.
- North America produced 10.2 Mt, up 36.0%.
- South America produced 3.8 Mt, up 19.6%.
| Top 10 steel-producing countries | ||||||
| Jul 2021 (Mt) | % change Jul 21/20 | Jan-Jul 2021 (Mt) | % change Jan-Jul 21/20 | |||
| China | 86.8 | -8.4 | 649.3 | 8.0 | ||
| India | 9.8 | 13.3 | 68.0 | 28.7 | ||
| Japan | 8.0 | 32.5 | 56.1 | 16.2 | ||
| United States | 7.5 | 37.9 | 49.5 | 18.5 | ||
| Russia | 6.7 | e | 13.4 | 44.9 | 9.2 | |
| South Korea | 6.1 | 10.8 | 41.3 | 8.7 | ||
| Germany | 3.0 | 24.7 | 23.6 | 18.9 | ||
| Turkey | 3.2 | 2.5 | 22.9 | 17.7 | ||
| Brazil | 3.0 | 14.5 | 21.0 | 22.0 | ||
| Iran | 2.6 | e | 9.0 | 17.8 | 9.9 | |
Carbon steel qualities
