The first and largest of roll-forming production in Korea The third in the world to produce 24-inch Stainless Steel Welded Pipe Plan to solidify its global position in LNG market through creating a synergy with domestic/international production facility

SeAH Steel has begun mass production of its 24-inch STS steel welded pipe production line, the first of its kind in Korea, and is ready to begin full-scale production, preparing to leap into the LNG market as a global leading company. Based on the fast speed and excellent quality of the 24-inch STS steel welded pipe production line, SeAH Steel plans to gain an edge in the global LNG demand market. In addition, the company expects to expand sales in the shipbuilding industry, such as for LNG transportation vessels, and collaborate with domestic heavy industry, which has recently seen a surge in global order volume.

The 24-inch STS steel welded pipe production line installed at SeAH Steel’s Suncheon Plant covers approximately 340,000 square meters. It is the first and largest in Korea in terms of outer diameter, made via roll-forming, in which the materials pass through roll forming rollers that are placed in a row to form the shape. Unlike the existing manufacturing methods such as roll bending or press bending that use thick steel plates as raw materials, the coil is used as a raw material in the pipe production line, allowing for STS welded pipe manufacturing from forming, welding, and heat treatment to correction in one go. This is expected to increase the company’s annual output capacity by 10,000 tons.

Following Butting in Germany and Jiuli in China, SeAH Steel has become the third in the world to introduce a 24-inch STS steel welded pipe production line. With the synergy achieved by collaborating with the Changwon Plant (producing small/medium diameter STS welded pipes, 1/4 to 16 inches, 43,000 tons per year), Suncheon Plant (producing large diameter STS welded pipes, 16 to 120 inches, 40,000 tons per year), and INOX TECH in Italy (producing large diameter STS welded pipes, 6 to 110 inches, 30,000 tons per year), SeAH Steel plans to solidify its global position in the STS welded pipe manufacturing industry by securing a total production capacity of 113,000 tons both domestically and internationally.

Starting with the Sabine Pass LNG project, the first shale gas development LNG project in the country, SeAH Steel has been a supplier for the majority of LNG projects in the United States due to its technological prowess in manufacturing steel welded pipes for LNG transportation. Following the LNG projects in Canada in 2020 and Mozambique in 2021, SeAH Steel participated in North Gas Field Project in Qatar, the world’s largest single STS steel welded pipe project last year, and is currently supplying its products through Samsung C&T Corporation in 2022. With the expansion of the 24-inch STS steel welded pipe production line, SeAH Steel is expected to gain a foothold in the rapidly growing global LNG market to win future contracts.

According to SeAH Steel, it has always been active and proactive to respond to market changes and customer demands, and through the investment and mass production of the 24-inch STS steel welded pipe production line at the Suncheon Plant, it will secure an absolute competitive edge in the LNG project market and leap forward as a leader in the new era of energy transition.