This week, TMK IPSCO’s Premium pipe threading facility in Brookfield, Ohio, began a two-week commissioning phase for its second thread line, which will allow the facility to thread more and larger pipe to meet the expanding demand in the oil and gas industry.

"What this means for the industry is that we are now able to provide an even quicker response to the growing needs of the Marcellus drilling region," said Piotr Galitzine, chairman of TMK IPSCO. "Marcellus will play a major role going forward as natural gas finds new uses in electricity generation and municipal transportation."

TMK IPSCO’s Premium pipe connections are well-known in the industry. The second thread line will allow the plant to thread pipes up to 13 5/8" in diameter, up from the previous size range of 4’’-7 5/8" under the first thread line. Each line is capable of threading more than 40,000 tons of pipe per year with an ULTRA-DQX™ Premium Connection, ULTRA-SF™ Premium Connection, or ULTRA-FJ™ Premium Connection.

TMK IPSCO’s team expressed great optimism at the added capacity brought on by the addition of the second thread line at Brookfield.

"The second line not only doubles our threading capacity at Brookfield," said David Green, director of operations in TMK IPSCO’s Premium division, "it also allows us to thread a wider range of product more efficiently, including the new ULTRA-QX™ Premium Connection which is especially important in deeper and higher pressure drilling environments. This is true in Marcellus and in some of the Canadian projects that we began shipping directly to this year."

In addition to threading, the facility in Brookfield also manufactures connections fittings and accessories for oil and gas exploration and recovery. The facility’s accessories line was commissioned in October 2010 and is the only such provider in the Marcellus region.

"The accessories business is crucial, as the float equipment and other tooling required in the wells require the same threading as the pipes with our Premium threads," said Green. "We are working to expand our accessory business at both our Brookfield and Houston locations."

Strategically located near TMK IPSCO’s steelmaking and pipe-rolling operations in Koppel and Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the Brookfield facility currently employs more than 60 workers. Total employment at the facility is projected to increase to more than 100 with the future addition of a third thread line.

"We are fortunate to have a wealth of experience and expertise in our backyard," says Ernie Sexton, plant manager at Brookfield. "We look forward to expanding our team in this rapidly growing region."

Groundbreaking for the second line took place in early October 2010 during a visit to the facility by the Board of Directors of TMK, the parent company of TMK IPSCO.