United Spiral Pipe LLC (USP), a joint venture of United States Steel Corporation, POSCO and SeAH Steel Corporation formally dedicated its new state-of-the-art spiral welded pipe manufacturing facility in Pittsburg, Calif., on October 30.
The plant is expected to provide approximately 120 new full-time manufacturing jobs to Northern California at a time when U.S. manufacturing jobs are under pressure. Approximately 320,000 hours of local building and construction trade labor was required to build the new facility.
“We’re proud to be a partner with POSCO and SeAH in bringing this impressive facility on line and creating manufacturing jobs that will benefit the community,” said John P. Surma, chairman and CEO of U.S. Steel. “The capacity and location of this facility will favorably position United Spiral Pipe to be an active, competitive participant in the expanding market for large-diameter line pipe in North America.”
“We are proud of the state-of the-art facilities of the United Spiral Pipe mill, which will be one of the most advanced and efficient spiral pipe mills in North America, and we are also confident that supply of high-quality hot rolled coils from POSCO and U. S. Steel will make United Spiral Pipe win over its North American competitors,” said Joon Yang Chung, chairman and CEO of POSCO. “We have no doubt that United Spiral Pipe will be a leading spiral welded pipe maker in North America in the near future.”
“SeAH Steel is proud to be part of the United Spiral Pipe joint venture with U. S. Steel and POSCO, both global steel industry leaders with such renowned histories and legacies,” said Woon Hyung Lee, chairman and CEO of SeAH Steel. “SeAH will provide United Spiral Pipe with operational know-how and technological support based on its 50 years of pipemaking experience.”
The USP facility has world-class pipe making and coating capabilities that will produce, at its peak, 300,000 net tons of line pipe per year to meet the anticipated demand in North America for spiral welded pipe due to natural gas and oil transmission projects. The facility will produce pipe with outside diameters ranging from 24 inches to 64 inches and will implement an advanced and automated two-step welding process that gives USP a competitive advantage.
Customer representatives, project contractors and elected officials were on hand to mark the occasion and hear remarks by: Nancy Parent, mayor of the City of Pittsburg; B.W. Koo, Korean consul general; John P. Surma, chairman and CEO of U.S. Steel; J. Y. Chung, chairman and CEO of POSCO; W. H. Lee, chairman and CEO of SeAH; and M. S. Lee, president of United Spiral Pipe.
U. S. Steel and POSCO each own 35 percent of the joint venture. They have been partners in USS-POSCO Industries (UPI), a steel finishing joint venture in Pittsburg, for more than 20 years. The new spiral welded pipe facility is located on land owned by UPI. SeAH Steel Corporation (SeAH), a manufacturer of tubular products in the Republic of Korea, owns the remaining 30 percent of the joint venture and brings broad expertise in manufacturing spiral welded pipe to the new company.
