Michael Andersson, Head of Product Area Tube and Petra Einarsson, President of Sandvik Materials Technology attend the inauguration of a new, state-of-the-art, fully automated ultrasonic testing facility in Sandviken, Sweden (photo: Sandvik)

Sandvik has inaugurated a new, state-of-the-art, fully automated ultrasonic testing facility for pipes for the oil and gas industry.

“Seeing this major investment come on-line is a substantial achievement for all involved, and a key milestone in Sandvik’s enhanced strategic focus on demanding applications within the oil and gas industry, such as OCTG (Oil Country Tubular Goods),” says Per Olsson Artberger, Sandvik Global Product Manager for OCTG.

“This new ultrasonic testing facility allows us to increase our capabilities and capacity significantly. Despite the current downturn in the oil and gas market, we see continued good business opportunities for Sandvik material grades, especially in the Middle East and Caspian Sea regions. What the new, automated facility provides us with is a much speedier throughput and greatly enhanced testing capabilities which meet the toughest requirements from customers in this segment.”

Sandvik took the decision to invest in the new facility as the energy sector, including oil and gas, is a key focus in the company’s strategic direction. Ultrasonic testing was the limiting factor in achieving maximum output with the existing facility. To solve this, Sandvik has invested not only in capacity but also state-of-the-art technology to meet the industry’s toughest requirements for defect detection.

“The new facility allows us to meet and exceed all customer requirements and puts Sandvik in a world leading position as a manufacturer of OCTG,” says Per Olsson Artberger. “It also builds on the strategic alliance between Sandvik and Tenaris on the exclusive joint supply of corrosion resistant alloy OCTG materials and technology to the oil and gas industry.”

Work commenced on the project in August last year, with commissioning and site acceptance testing taking place prior to the test facility’s inauguration.

Per Olsson Artberger adds, “Today, the completed project speeds up production and the new facility eliminates what was sometimes a bottleneck in the production chain. We now meet the most exacting standards of the industry.”

Tags: Sandvik