According to the government of China's Hebei Province, the new 660 mm ERW (electric resistance welding) pipe line of Hebei Huayang Steel Pipe Co., the largest ERW pipe manufacturer in northern China, has already been put into production in the current year, while the ultra-large diameter ERW line and square & rectangular tube line of Hebei Zhihang Pipeline Equipment Manufacturing Co. have entered the testing phase prior to commissioning. With these new production facilities, the annual output capacity of ERW pipe in Hebei Province will increase by 750,000 mt in the current year, the Hebei government stated.
Construction of the ERW pipe line of Huayang Steel Pipe commenced in April 2011, with a total investment of RMB 450million ($71.43 million). The production line has an annual output capacity of 300,000 mt of 325-660 mm ERW pipe of 8-25 mm wall thickness, destined mainly for the oil and gas sector.
On the other hand, the ERW pipe line of Zhihang Pipeline Equipment Manufacturing will be the first such line in China with the capability of producing products with diameter of 711 mm and thickness of 26 mm, while its designed annual output capacity is 450,000 mt. Meanwhile, its large diameter square and rectangular tube line will produce 100,000 mt of all grades of square and rectangular tubes in a thickness range of 40-80 mm.