In January-June of this year, the enterprises of the association “Ukrtruboprom” reduced the production of pipes by 24.4% compared to the same period last year – to 235.2 thousand tons.
According to the updated data of the association, in January, “Ukrtruboprom” enterprises increased the output of pipes by 2.2 times compared to the same period last year – to 61.3 thousand tons, in February – by 16.2%, to 49 thousand tons. tons, but production has been declining since March.
So, in March, the output of pipes was 3.5 thousand tons (5.9% to March-2021), in April – 18.5 thousand tons (32.1% to March-2021), in May – 51.4 thousand tons (86.5%), in June – 51.6 thousand tons (76.6%).
In general, in the first half of the year, all plants demonstrated negative dynamics. “Interpipe Nico Tube” and “Trubostal” reduced the production of seamless pipes by 14% and 44.4%, respectively, “Sentravis” – stainless pipes by 25%, “Interpipe NMTZ” – electric welding pipes by 37.6%.
General Director of “Ukrtruboprom” Giorgiy Polskyi noted that at the beginning of the year, pipe factories increased production against the background of favorable conditions in foreign markets, which is mainly due to the post-Kovid recovery of the world economy and high hydrocarbon prices. However, the full-scale invasion of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine led to the sharpest decline in production: in March, almost the entire industry came to a standstill.
“In April, Ukrainian pipe manufacturers began to cautiously start up production facilities, and in May-June enterprises reached 50% capacity utilization from the pre-war period. However, individual plants are severely underutilized, as new supply chains and logistics schemes are still in the process of restructuring and formation, for example, “Interpipe NMTZ” used to receive raw materials (strips) from “Azovstal”, but now it is impossible due to the occupation of Mariupol,” said Polsky, quoted by the press service.
According to him, now logistics is the main factor why pipe factories cannot reach pre-war production volumes. The outage of many suppliers in the east and south of Ukraine has been a big loss for pipe workers from the point of view of traditional supply chains. In addition, many traditional logistics schemes have been disrupted: Ukrainian seaports on the Black Sea have been blocked, there is a serious shortage of gasoline and diesel fuel in the country, and the transport infrastructure has been destroyed by enemy missile strikes.
“This forces enterprises to look for new, more expensive routes for transporting products for export through western border crossings and European seaports. In addition, the constant increase in energy prices, primarily natural gas and electricity, lead to an additional increase in the cost of pipe products and reduce their competitiveness on foreign markets”, – summed up the general director.
As reported, in 2021, Ukraine increased the output of pipes by 15.1% compared to the previous year – to 980.7 thousand tons, in particular, the enterprises of “Ukrtruboprom” increased their production by 32.6% – to 710.5 thousand tons.
In January-June of the current year, the enterprises of the Ukrtruboprom association, according to recent data, reduced production of pipes by 27.1% compared to the same period last year, to 226,900 tonnes.
According to a press release from the association on Wednesday, in January, Ukrtruboprom enterprises increased production of pipes by 2.2 times compared to the same period last year, to 61,300 tonnes, and in February by 16.2%, to 49,000 tonnes, but production has been declining since March.
So, in March, production of pipes amounted to 3,500 tonnes (5.9% compared to March 2021), in April – 18,500 tonnes (32.1% compared to March 2021), in May – 51,400 tonnes (86.5%), and in June – 43,200 tonnes (64.5%).
It is specified that in general, in the first half of the year, all plants showed a negative trend. Interpipe Niko Tube and Trubostal reduced production of seamless pipes by 14% and 44.4% respectively, Centravis stainless pipes by 25%, Interpipe Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant electric-welded pipes by 37.6%.
Heorhiy Polsky, General Director of Ukrtruboprom, noted that at the beginning of the year, pipe plants were increasing their output amid favorable external market conditions, which were mainly due to the post-COVID recovery of the global economy and high hydrocarbon prices. However, the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into the territory of Ukraine led to a severe decline in production: in March, almost the entire industry stopped.
PJSC Centravis Production Ukraine (Centravis Production Ukraine), which is part of the Centravis Ltd. holding, after quality approval, supplied stainless steel pipes of the German companies Buhlmann and Bilfinger, intended for use in the nuclear industry.
According to a press release from the company on Wednesday, the pipe acceptance procedure was carried out in Germany.
It is noted that the Buhlmann group of companies is a premium company selling steel pipes, pipe fittings and accessories worldwide, and Bilfinger is a European company specializing in civil and industrial construction, design, services, located in Germany.
“Final inspection of the last lines of the Hinkley Point C BOP order has been completed. Hinkley Point C is a 3200 MW nuclear power plant consisting of two units, the plant is under construction in Somerset, England. The Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant is of great importance for the UK in terms of reducing emissions carbon.”, – stated in a press release.
In addition, it is specified that the electricity produced by the two EPR reactors will prevent the emission of carbon dioxide at the level of 9 million tons annually. Mechanical properties, metal structure and resistance to intergranular corrosion fully meet the requirements used in the nuclear industry. The auditors also had no comments on the document flow and its quality.
“You managed to complete all the remaining work and provide us with full support in the export of products from Ukraine. We greatly appreciate the stable and reliable communication with you and your team over the past few weeks,” said Jan Paul Godhoff, director of international projects at Buhlmann.
In turn, Centravis Sales Director Artem Atanasov stressed that Ukraine is now going through difficult times, and participation in major global projects is the company’s support from European colleagues.
“Centravis” is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of seamless stainless steel pipes, founded in 2000. Its production facilities are located in Nikopol (Dnepropetrovsk region). Included in the top 10 global players, supplies pipes to more than 70 countries from different regions, in particular to Thyssenkrupp, Buhlmann, BMW, Alstom, Linde, Samsung, Volkswagen.
Before the Russian aggression, more than 1,400 people worked at the enterprise.
Holding Centravis Ltd. was created on the basis of CJSC “Nikopol Stainless Pipe Plant”, service and trading companies LLC “Production and Commercial Enterprise “UVIS”. Its shareholders are members of the Atanasov family.
Owned by Centravis Ltd. 100% of the shares of PJSC “Centravis Production Ukraine” is located.
PJSC Centravis Production Ukraine (Centravis Production Ukraine), part of the holding Centravis Ltd., has increased the production of pipes due to improved supplies of billets.
“The situation in production has slightly improved compared to last week. The extrusion line is running, the time for repairs has been reduced, as there is a positive trend in the receipt of the billet. The situation in the cold shop is also stable. Some of the mills have been launched due to the availability of billets, and the operation of two annealing furnaces has been resumed” , – stated in a letter from Chief Sales Officer (CSO) Artem Atanasov to Centravis customers on Friday.
According to him, the emphasis in production is on the production of pipes for instrumentation and automotive industry, but also heat exchange pipes and pipes for general purposes. There are no deviations in quality and metal consumption.
At the same time, it is noted that the logistics team of the company is constantly looking for the best and safest ways to deliver finished products to consumers. Members of the Board of Directors Yuriy Atanasov, Andrey Krasyuk, Oleksandr Joseph, Artem Atanasov remain in Ukraine and continue to work. Sales offices of “Centravis” around the world in Essen, Milan, Krakow, Lugano, Houston and Dubai are also open, financial and administrative departments, customer support work.
“We are pleased to inform you that the current EU protective measures against Ukraine will soon be lifted, which will allow Centravis to export its tubular products to the EU without paying a 25% protective duty indefinitely. The EU regulation in this regard will be officially approved in the near future and we expect it to be published in the Official Journal during May 2022,” Atanasov wrote.
“Centravis” is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of seamless stainless steel pipes, founded in 2000. Its production facilities are located in Nikopol (Dnepropetrovsk region). Included in the top 10 world players. Before the Russian aggression, more than 1,400 people worked at the enterprise.
Holding Centravis Ltd. was created on the basis of CJSC “Nikopol Stainless Pipe Plant”, service and trading companies LLC “Production and Commercial Enterprise “UVIS”. Its shareholders are members of the Atanasov family.
Owned by Centravis Ltd. 100% of the shares of PJSC “Centravis Production Ukraine” is located.
Ukraine’s leading pipe enterprises in January-November of this year increased production of pipes from ferrous metals, according to recent data, by 15.7% year-over-year, to 906,200 tonnes, including 87,100 tonnes produced in November. A source in the industry told Interfax-Ukraine, in particular, the enterprises of the Ukrtruboprom association have increased pipe production by 31.4% over this period, to 649,000 tonnes. Including in November, output amounted to 69,700 tonnes.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Ukrtruboprom welcomed a decision of the Ukrainian authorities to raise the export duty on scrap metal from EUR 58 to EUR 180 per tonne.
“Ukrainian pipe manufacturers expected this measure to restrict the export of strategic raw materials six months ago. It was from the end of spring that the export of ferrous scrap became uncontrolled, which caused a shortage of raw materials and even the import of round billets,” Ukrtruboprom Director General Heorhiy Polsky said, who signed the statement.
At the same time, he noted the timeliness of the duty hike: “It is important that the decision necessary for the Ukrainian pipe industry was made at the beginning of the winter season, when the volume of scrap procurement, the main raw material for production of seamless pipe products, is traditionally reduced.”
According to him, the new export duty will help stabilize the situation with scrap in the domestic market: pipe industry enterprises will be provided with raw materials, and people – with jobs and wages. After all, the export of highly processed products brings to the Ukrainian budget 4 times more taxes than the export of unprocessed raw materials abroad, Polsky summed up.
Ukraine in January-June 2018 increased production of pipes from ferrous metals by 8.6% compared to the same period in 2017, to 544,000 tonnes, including 96,000 tonnes in June. The Ukrtruboprom association told Interfax-Ukraine, the enterprises of the association for the first six months of the year raised pipe production by 20.8%, to 406,000 tonnes, in June by 71,000 tonnes.
Khartsyzsk Pipe Plant (Donetsk region), located in the temporarily uncontrolled areas, was idle in January-June 2018, while in January-June 2017 it produced 3,400 tonnes of goods. The output of pipes at Interpipe Nyzhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant increased by 22%, to 149,200 tonnes, Interpipe Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant by 8.5%, to 51,000 tonnes, Interpipe Niko Tube by 31.2%, to 182,600 tonnes. Dnipropetrovsk Pipe Plant reduced output of pipes by 14.9%, to 9,700 tonnes, Centravis rose the figure by 14.8%, to 10,100 tonnes of stainless pipes. Trubostal plant kept the output of pipes at the level of the previous year, at 1,500 tonnes of pipes.
