France's Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes Invests USD $289 Million in Changzhou Hi-tech District

USA - English

• USA - English

CHANGZHOU, China, June 25 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- On June 22nd, French company Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes signed an agreement with the Changzhou National Hi-tech District Administrative Committee to invest USD $289 million to implement a phase II expansion project with annual production capacity of 60,000 tons of wide-bore, heavy-walled seamless steel piping. The project is expected to go into production in 2013.

Since 1996,Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes has funded four enterprises in the Changzhou National Hi-tech District (CND), in eastern China's Jiangsu province. These companies are Changzhou Valinox Great Wall Welded Tube Co., Ltd.; V&M (Changzhou) Co., Ltd.; VAM (Changzhou) Oil & Gas Premium Equipments Co., Ltd., and Changzhou Carex Valinox Components Co., Ltd. To date, the company has invested over USD $170 million in Changzhou.

In recent years, China's electricity industry has developed at a remarkable rate, which has led to great increases in the production of high pressure-withstanding boiler pipes and pipes used in power stations. In response to the quickly growing needs of China's supercritical and super- supercritical power plants, and in order to better provide China with the high heat-, high pressure-resistant wide-bore thick-walled high-alloy seamless steel pipes that are in short supply in the domestic market, Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes has decided to implement a phase II expansion project to produce that kind of piping at V&M (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. The project represents a total investment of USD $289 million, and an increase of USD $120 million in registered capital, which is expected to raise annual production capacity from 15,000 tons to 60,000 tons when it goes into effect in 2013.

Zhang Weiguo, deputy provincial governor, represented the provincial government in congratulating Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes on the implementation of the phase II project in CND. He said, "Jiangsu is one of the fastest growing and most energetic provinces in China, and also one of the nation's greatest places to do business. As an important manufacturing and production base in Jiangsu province, Changzhou, with its wonderful environment, high level of production, and great potential, has attracted many multinational companies and a great amount of investment in its projects. The increase of investment represented by this project exemplifies Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes' foresight and boldness, and also serves as proof of the willingness of Changzhou's municipal and district government to work with, nurture, and help businesses to grow. Vallourec pipes, which are manufactured mainly using alloy materials, lead the world in terms of technological advancement of product quality. This is an energy saving, emissions-reducing project that will most certainly realize our goals of mutual benefit."

France's Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes is the largest producer of steel pipes in the world, and the company's products include natural gas, electricity, automobiles, and machinery. In 2008, annual production of the group's seamless steel pipes reached three million tons, and sales reached 6.44 billion euro.

CND has attracted many local and overseas investors with its excellent location, convenient transportation, stable preferential policies and efficient service. A group of famous multinational companies have settled down in CND, including Saint-Gobain, George Fisher, Terex, Ashland Chemical, Polynt Group, Nippon Steel Corp, Rieter Textile Instrument, Leoni Electronics, Kymco Motors, Komatsu, Bridgestone, Fujitsu, and Fuji Heavy Industry.

    For more information, please contact:

     Wang Zhongliang
     The Public Promotion Department
     Changzhou National High-Tech District
     Jiangsu Province 213022
     Tel:   +86-519-8512-7305
     Fax:   +86-519-8511-5905
     Email: [email protected]
     Web:   http://www.cznd.gov.cn

SOURCE Changzhou National Hi-Tech District