Liberty Galati, the largest steel producer in Romania, has completed the installation of a new and highly automated pipe coating line following an investment of over RON 40 million (EUR 8.1 mln). With this investment, the company has extended its high value-added product portfolio at its specialized unit Liberty Tubular Products Galati.

The new line will allow Liberty Galati to become the only regional provider of 100% in-house coated pipes from its own plates and highlights its commitment to providing end-to-end solutions for its customers across Romania, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.

The investment will give Liberty Galati access to a global market worth more than USD 8 billion, with the market in Europe worth around USD 1.6 billion and estimated to grow at around 3.5% annually up to 2031.

“In March, we restarted our Blast Furnace following a three-month care and maintenance programme, during which time we fully paid all our employees and maintained all jobs without seeking any external support. The implementation of the new automated pipe coating line is another important step forward for Liberty Galati as we look to expand our high value-added product portfolio and increase profitability,” said Prasanta Mishra, Executive Director of Liberty Galati.

“By implementing these investments, we will be able to coat the pipes using the steel plates produced here at Galati and finish them into premium products for customers in Romania and Europe. This means we will have additional products in our portfolio of high-quality, value-added integrated products that will satisfy the market demand. In the meantime, we continue to invest in operational flexibility as well as in the implementation of our GREENSTEEL transformation plans,” he added.

The new line has a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year and will be operated by 25 specialists. It provides washing, drying, blasting, inspection, and coating of successive layers of epoxy, adhesive, polyethylene/polypropylene, as well as – on request – polypropylene foam.

In addition to these coatings on the external surface of the pipe, the Pipe Coating Line can also perform coating on the internal surface pipes using epoxy resin. Treated this way, the pipes can be used in transmission lines for oil, natural gas, water or other fluids.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Liberty Galati)