 TMK IPSCO provides steel pipes and related services to a number of industries, including oil and gas. MK IPSCO, combined with its parent TMK, says its mission is to be the leading global supplier of efficient tubular solutions. “As we become more and more involved in the world pipe business, we are increasing overseas sales and optimizing our products and market portfolios by strengthening partnerships with existing and new customers,” the company says. “We consider alliances and partnerships as opportunities to improve our global competitiveness.” The company specializes in manufacturing steel pipes and related services. It is focused on being innovative and developing strong relationships with customers and providing quality products and services, it says. The firm produces a range of pipes for the oil and gas, chemical and petrochemical, energy, machine-building, construction, municipal housing, shipbuilding, aviation and aerospace and agriculture industries. All TMK IPSCO’s pipes are made from carbon steel, stainless and heat-resistant steels, titanium and nickel alloys. The company’s product lines include: - Seamless threaded pipes for oil and gas, such as drill pipes, well casing and tubing used for drilling, equipping and operating oil and gas wells;
- Seamless line pipes for in-field pipelines that are used to deliver crude oil and natural gas from fields to refineries, storage tank farms, loading terminals and distribution points;
- Seamless pipes for machine-building, hydraulics, boilers and process equipment in the chemical industry and bearing stock production;
- Large-diameter welded pipes for the construction of transmission pipeline systems for the transportation of natural gas, crude oil and petroleum products;
- Energy tubulars for drilling, equipping and operating oil and gas wells; and
- Welded pipes for water and gas supply system construction and consumer goods production.
President and CEO Vicki Avril recently took time to speak to U.S. Business Review about the company’s strengths, new innovations and developments, and its plans for the future. U.S. Business Review: Can you explain the company’s history?
Vicki Avril: TMK IPSCO is a North American producer of tubular products with facilities located at 10 sites throughout the United States. The facilities process a comprehensive line of casing, tubing, industrial pipe and premium connections. Tubular product offerings include both seamless and welded pipe in carbon and alloy grades. TMK IPSCO focuses on supplying the oil and gas industry, as well as offering a wide range of pipes for industrial use. TMK IPSCO was formed one year ago when TMK bought the U.S. tubular assets of SSAB (formerly IPSCO). IPSCO was incorporated in Saskatchewan, Canada, on July 13, 1956, and was originally known as Prairie Pipe Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Over the years, the company aggressively grew through the acquisition of tubular and coil processing assets and the construction of new tubular and electric arc furnace steel mills in the United States. TMK – TMK IPSCO’s owner – is one of the world’s leading oil and gas pipe producers and Russia’s largest manufacturer and exporter of steel pipes. USBR: What are some of the company’s key strengths in the industry?
VA: We differentiate TMK IPSCO from other manufacturers through superior execution of a customer-focused commercial strategy, delivery to market, product quality, value-added products and technical competence. For example, TMK IPSCO has been a leader in developing proprietary grades to meet customer needs. The casing grades I80 and I100 were developed to meet specific well requirements that were not available in the standard API offerings. TMK IPSCO has enhanced our offerings of premium connections, based upon the proven thread profile, to provide horizontal drillers with the design criteria needed for these environments, but with superior value compared to the competitive alternatives. TMK IPSCO also strategically locates its finishing facilities and uses high speed, efficient processing lines providing for products to be processed to the customer needs with minimal lead times. USBR: What is the company’s position in the industry?
VA: TMK is a global producer of oil and gas pipe products, among the top three largest in the world. TMK IPSCO is one the top three largest oil and pipe producers in the United States. USBR: What are some developments or innovations going on in the company today?
VA: TMK IPSCO depends on finding new ways to add value to our products and services. The company has invested $200 million over the last four years in the construction of oil country tubular goods heat treat facilities in Blytheville, Ark., and Baytown, Texas, and in the expansion of the seamless product line with diameters up through 5.5 inches. TMK IPSCO has a subsidiary, ULTRA Premium Oilfield Services, which manufactures and services the advanced connections required for deep, high-pressure and directional drilling. ULTRA has completed the first phase of its plan to expand threading capacity in response to the rapid increase in demand for our line of Premium Connections, in particular the ULTRA SF, which has become the premium thread of choice for (exploration and processing) companies drilling in the complex U.S. shale plays. The success of ULTRA Premium Connections has accelerated TMK IPSCO’s shale business plan and our focus on the current Bakken, Fayetteville and Haynesville (oil) shales, areas in which ULTRA has gained significant market share. The overwhelming interest from our customers has accelerated our need to be geographically focused, both in current shale plays and future plays like the Marcellus Shale, where ULTRA has been one of the first to make premium connection sales. USBR: What are some of the market trends you have experienced, and what has the company done to adapt to those changes?
VA: Like many industries, the pipe industry has seen significant consolidation of companies. IPSCO was very much a part of this trend as they acquired NS Group in December 2006. The following year, IPSCO was acquired by SSAB, and the year after that, IPSCO tubular assets were divided and the U.S. assets were sold to TMK. The TMK IPSCO executive team has largely remained together through these many changes with six of the 10 senior executives dating back to IPSCO prior to the multiple acquisitions. The TMK acquisition of the IPSCO assets complemented the vision that this officer group had been pursuing of becoming a global supplier of energy pipe. The industry knowledge is very deep, and the bond of the team is strong. This deep experience level of the management team combined with a work force that has not been disrupted has resulted in focused and well-defined objectives of the group. USBR: What are some of the challenges the company has faced?
VA: Besides the various ownership changes mentioned, the obvious challenge has been the current market environment. In addressing this market swift, severe action had to be taken to adjust operations to the low market demand level and remove the related costs. These changes had to be made with the need to minimize the impact on employees and suppliers that will be needed in the future. TMK IPSCO has maintained a highly variable cost structure, which has allowed us to effectively manage in this environment.
USBR: What do you think sets the company apart? VA: TMK IPSCO takes pride in its customer-focused commercial strategy. We spend time with the end-users of our product to understand how they are using our product and what changes they would like to see in the future. Our product development team works with our customers’ technical groups in developing new products or new applications of existing products to better serve [the customers’] needs. USBR: What is your corporate culture?
VA: We strive every day to establish and maintain an environment throughout the organization that permits all employees to experience the satisfaction that comes from good, safe surroundings, fair rewards, personal involvement and the recognition of work well done. USBR: What are some of the characteristics you look for in new employees?
VA: They need to be results oriented, have a sense of urgency, track record of delivering objectives, dedicated to excellence, persistent, understand accountability, commitment and teamwork, willing to embrace change, have strong analytical and reasoning abilities, and be open, honest and fair. USBR: Do you have any notable training policies or procedures?
VA: We want to provide employees the tools, the training and conditions to develop their capabilities and grow to their fullest potential. We encourage and enjoy an open environment and a flexible work force. Our philosophy is to cross-train employees so they are more versatile. In addition, we offer a generous tuition assistance program that reimburses employees 100 percent for tuition, fees and expenses connected with post-secondary courses and degree programs that are considered helpful to the employee in performing his/her job with the company. USBR: What is your vision of the future?
VA: TMK IPSCO’s vision is to be a top producer of energy tubular goods in America. TMK IPSCO has a strong market share of energy tubular products in the United States, which the company will continue to grow, as well as expanding into other American markets. Tubular products will continue to migrate to upper-end products with proprietary grades and products, heat treat or other value added qualities highly focused on serving the energy sector where quality, reliability and service differentiate TMK IPSCO from both North American and international competitors. We will continue to differentiate TMK IPSCO from other manufacturers through superior execution of a customer-focused commercial strategy, delivery to market, product quality, value-added products and technical competence. |
