Atlas Tube Partners Up to Bring Jumbo HSS Products to North America
02/24/2012 - Atlas Tube has partnered with Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products Co., Ltd. (NSMP) and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. to supply Jumbo Hollow Structural Sections (HSS) to the North American market.
Atlas Tube has partnered with Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products Co., Ltd. (NSMP) and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. to supply Jumbo Hollow Structural Sections (HSS) to the North American market. The "Jumbo" HSS sizes, which were not originally available in North America, range from 18-in square to 22-in square and up to 0.875-in wall thickness.
Atlas Tube will market and distribute these Jumbo HSS products throughout North America. The jumbo sections are typically used in vertical column and diagonal bracing applications and as members of large, long-span trusses.
"Readily available Jumbo HSS will be another option for engineers…, especially for structures with large load demands such as ones in high seismic areas," said Bradlee Fletcher, Structural Engineer for Atlas Tube.
NSMP says, "In Japan, HSS is commonly used for column applications in multistory commercial buildings, as well as parking garages. Also, HSS is very effective against seismic loads, which was proven during the recent earthquake in Japan in the spring of 2011."
The jumbo sizes will be available to ship from Atlas' Chicago facility in Q2 2012.
Atlas Tube, a division of the JMC Steel Group, was founded in Harrow, Ontario, in 1984 and has been manufacturing Hollow Structural Sections (HSS) for more than three decades. It is the largest HSS producer in North America, with sizes from 1- to 20-in round, up to 16-in square, and up to 20- x 12-in rectangles. Atlas Tube has five production facilities, in Chicago, Ill.; Plymouth, Mich.; Blytheville, Ark.; Harrow, Ontario; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
