TPCO America, the US subsidiary of China-based Tianjin Pipe Company, broke ground on a 500,000 metric ton-a-year seamless pipe mill in Gregory, Texas Friday. Construction of the project is expected to take about two years, and the company aims to have the plant operational in 2013.
Total investment in the plant will be about $1 billion, and once completed, the mill will produce steel pipe casing and lining for the oil and gas exploration industry.