Named Bellville Tube Co., the new business will make welded tube for the construction, industrial and oil and gas sectors and is targeting 130,000 tons of annual production. 

Production will be based at a 39-year-old facility formerly owned by United States Steel Corporation. U. S. Steel idled the plant in the summer of 2014. At the time, the facility was primarily making small-diameter welded oil country tubular goods.

“The facility is located strategically to serve the construction and industrial tubular marketplaces, as well as the world’s largest oilfield plays of the Permian and Eagle Ford, with premier rail access to the northern United States and western Canadian oil and gas producing regions,” the company said in a statement.

“Bellville Tube is very excited to be well-positioned to meet the growing demand for high-quality steel tubular products in North America and the world,” it said.

The identities of Bellville Tube Co.’s investors haven’t been disclosed, but the company said that group and its management team is made up of people with backgrounds in engineering, finance and business. Combined, its investors and managers have more than 200 years of oil and gas, and steel tube manufacturing experience, the company said.

A company spokesman told AIST that Bellville Tube plans to launch operations with a single shift. Its initial production team has been hired, though there are plans to grow the workforce to more than 100 as it ramps over the next year. 

The company also is investing in the facility.

“Investment has been made in additional equipment and installation is currently in process to more than double production finishing capabilities,” it said. “Additional infrastructure improvements have already commenced dramatically improving logistical services via truck and railway via dual on-site rail spur access, giving key access to all North American markets.”