Arvedi Metalfer Do Brasil in Salto, Brazil, has placed an order with SMS Meer for the supply of an RD 140 HF tube welding machine including a finishing line. This is already the second major order Arvedi has awarded SMS Meer within a short space of time.

Just two years ago Arvedi brought a tube line supplied by SMS Meer into service at its plant in Cremona, Italy. "Following our positive experience with the first plant, we decided to have the second tube welding line designed and manufactured by SMS Meer too," says Mario Caldonazzo, CEO of Arvedi Tubi Acciaio. "SMS Meer’s concept is impressive in terms of tube quality, flexibility and productivity."

In the future, Arvedi will supply its Brazilian customers with tubes of the highest quality for special applications. Mr. Caldonazzo added, "SMS Meer’s modern technology creates the ideal preconditions for this."

SMS Meer is also to supply the finishing line, thereby offering an integrated solution from just a single source. The new tube welding line is designed for a capacity of 150,000 tonnes of tubes per year. The size range covers tube diameters from 33.4 to 139.7 mm with wall thicknesses from 1.5 to 8.0 mm. Tube lengths range between 5.0 and 12.6 m. The plant can reach a maximum production speed of 130 m per minute.

With its new plant, Arvedi Metalfer Do Brasil will be able to produce high-quality, thick-walled tubes with round, square and rectangular cross-sections. At the same time they meet the stringent requirements of standards such as EN 10219, API 5L, EN 10208, API 5CT, ASTM A513, EN 10305.

"Thanks to the innovative quick-change systems, the productivity of the plant is on average more than 30 percent higher than with conventional plants", says Michael Cottin, Head of Product Area Tube and Pipe Welding Plants at SMS Meer. "What’s more, Arvedi can also adapt flexibly to changes in market requirements for welded tubes. Orders for increasingly small lot sizes with a variety of dimensions require plant solutions with short changeover times and minimal downtimes."

Changeovers to new tube dimensions can be performed in just one-and-a-half to two hours, thanks to the inline and offline quickchanging systems developed by SMS Meer. The CSS Quicksetting® system from SMS Meer plays a particularly important role here. Among other things, this computer-controlled system ensures that the rolls are automatically adjusted to their exact working position after a size change.

The plant is scheduled to go into operation in May 2013.