IPSCO produces tubular products up to 24" in diameter by the electric resistance weld process ("ERW" for short). In the process a coil of steel is continuously fed through a set of rolls to form it into a cylindrical hollow shape with the coil's length as its axis. The two edges are then heated to red-hot temperatures by applying  electrical energy and are forged together such that the edges are fused permanently upon cooling. The Regina, Red Deer, Calgary, Blytheville, Camanche, Wilder, and Geneva pipemaking facilities all utilize the ERW process.

To produce rectangular or square tubes the round pipe is immediately put through a set of forming rolls to alter its shape. Hollow Structural Sections (HSS) or structural tubing, are made at the Regina, Red Deer, Camanche, and Geneva facilities.
 

Pipe diameters of 26" through 56", chiefly used in gas and oil long distance transmission, are produced by a process called "spiral pipemaking". Coils of steel are continuously fed into equipment which forms a tube by winding it spirally and then welding it together. Double Submerged Arc Welding (DSAW) is used to manufacture spiral pipe at Regina (3 weld lines).

Seamless products are manufactured in Ambridge Pennsylvania from cast round billets produced in electric arc and ladle refining facilities located in Koppel Pennsylvania.  At Ambridge, solid cast round billets are heated in our rotary hearth furnace to temperatures over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.  Billets exit the furnace to the piercer for conversion to hollow tube.  Hollow tubes move through our mandrel mill where diameter, wall thickness, and length requirements take shape.  Tubes exit the mandrel mill to the stretch reduction mill where they are rolled to precise tolerances.  Finishing and further processing operations include Premium and API production tube upsetting, normalizing, quench and temper, straightening, threading, hydrotesting and coating. 

View the seamless process flowchart

IPSCO has been producing tubular goods for demanding uses since 1956. Today, modern electric arc steelmaking, and casting and rolling techniques allow IPSCO to meet specific customer requirements at its eight pipemaking facilities across western Canada and in the mid west United States. What separates IPSCO from other pipe manufacturers is that it produces its own steel. This captive steelmaking capacity allows IPSCO traceability allowing for immediate feedback on its pipe product. Companies in the IPSCO Group are the best customers for IPSCO steel because either IPSCO or its subsidiaries operate pipemaking facilities in Calgary and Red Deer, Alberta; Camanche, Iowa; Geneva, Nebraska; Blytheville, Arkansas; Wilder, Kentucky, and Regina itself. IPSCO makes pipe from 1.5" to 56" in diameter, but not all pipe mills in the IPSCO group have the same product and size ranges.

Major Product Groups
ERW

• 1.5" through 24" outside diameter
• 0.083" to 0.500" wall thickness