SteelOrbis Shanghai
In the 1950s China imported three low electric resistance welding units from German and Russia - OD 32 mm for Shanghai, OD 63.5 mm for Tianjin and OD 103 mm for Beijing. In 1959, an important construction project for the first large OD SSAW unit for the oil industry was completed in Baoji, with a diameter from 426 mm to 630 mm. This project lifted the curtain on the large OD welded pipe industry. In the early 1960s, China began to develop its own welding equipment. For example, Baoji Pipe Co., Ltd developed a spiral welding unit with OD from 219 mm to 426 mm. In the 1970s, while on the one hand China imported advanced units from overseas, it also researched and developed its own welding units, most of which were LSAW units with OD under 114 mm. The 1980s were a peak period for importing, developing and producing welding units. From the 1990s to the present day, the welding industry has continued on the path of development. Boosted by the West-East Natural Gas Transmission Project, the construction of another round of welding units is underway. For example, Panyu Chu Kong Steel Pipe Co., Ltd has imported a HME unit and a UOE unit - the first time such units have been imported into China. Liaoyang Steel Pipe Co., Ltd has built its own UOE unit. Julong Steel Pipe Co., Ltd has imported a JCOE unit, as have Huabei Petroleum Steel Pipe Co., Ltd and Baoji Steel Pipe Co., Ltd. The result is a total of six large diameter SSAW units. These constructions have given a major boost to the development of China's welding industry.
Looking back at the welding industry's growth, the achievement was driven by national economic development, high demand and the continuing technological developments in welding and in hot rolled coil manufacture. In the late 1980s China's welding industry made a strong impression in the world market. In the 1990s the country's output of welded pipe claimed second position in the world and continued to move closer to Japan's position at number one. In 2001 China overtook Japan and since them has been the world's biggest producer of welded pipe.
So far, China produces three kinds of welded pipe: LSAW, ERW and SSAW. LSAW can be produced with diameters from 4 mm to 1,800 mm and wall thicknesses from 0.26 mm to 32 mm. SSAW can be produced with diameters from 168 mm to 3,000 mm and with wall thickness reaching 14 mm.
Welding products cover a wide range of applications in industry. It is used in the fields of architecture, oil and natural gas, metallurgy, mining, in the chemical industry, in light industry, agriculture, electricity generation, and in many other areas. As such, it has a vital role to play in economic development.