What is H-Saw?

H-Saw stands for helical, submerged arc welding.  Helical or spiral indicates the welding process is joining hot rolled coil (of various widths), creating a helical seam around the finished pipe.  Saw or submerged arc welding means the electrode used to join the coil edges is submerged in flux to protect the weld pool from contamination.  

What is the difference between H-Saw and L-Saw pipe?

Spiral weld pipe is made from hot rolled coil and has a helical submerged arc weld while L-Saw pipe is made from plate and has a longitudinal submerged arc weld.

What are the advantages of H-Saw over L-Saw pipe?

H-Saw is manufactured from hot rolled coil which is less expensive than plate used in the L-Saw process and several OD sizes of pipe can be made from the same width of hot rolled coil giving more flexibility with the same base material.  Pipe manufactured in the L-Saw process has a maximum length of 40 feet unless double jointed (adding to cost) some European and other mills make 60' lengths while H-Saw allows more length variability up to 80'.  H-Saw is a less capital intensive process.  H-Saw produces product of equal quality to L-Saw at lower cost.

What is the difference between the "One Step or On-line" process and a "Two Step" mill?

One Step or On-line mills form the pipe and complete the weld simultaneously utilizing multiple welding heads.  The Two Step process forms the pipe and places only a tack or root weld in the pipe and subsequently moves the pipe to another welding station where welding is completed.  The finish welding stations can complete the welding process with practically no interruptions minimizing the potential for repair welds.

Why is the plant being located in the United States?

PSLNA has built this facility as a joint venture with PSL Ltd. to supply the domestic demand with Large Diameter Line Pipe for Natural Gas Transportation requirements using state of the art production and quality. The Large Diameter Line Pipe demand will continue to require more pipelines in the coming years to meet increased natural gas consumption, connect new natural gas sources such as Liquid Natural Gas terminals, and replace existing infrastructure as it reaches the end of useful life.

PSLNA has strategically located this facility along the gulf coast to be close to market demand and minimize overall freight costs with access to barge, railroad, and truck.