Arabian Pipes Company (APC), the leading Electric Resistance Welding (ERW) pipe manufacturer in Saudi Arabia, is enhancing its strategic position within the industry and continues to secure major contracts to supply pipelines both regionally and internationally.

Since commercial production started in Riyadh in 1996, APC has supplied more than 26 million feet of high-grade steel pipe in the 6 to 20 inch range locally and internationally.
Applications include line pipes and casing pipes for oil and gas supply and the petrochemical sector as well as water well casing, piling and general structural pipes. APC has earned a reputation as one of the world's leading suppliers for the manufacture of critical line pipes for wet, sour and critical applications.
In addition, APC is also capturing a larger share of the pipe coating market following the commissioning of its state-of-the-art plant in Riyadh parallel to its manufacturing plant.
Commercial production at its fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) coating facility in Riyadh began in 2002 and more than 500,000 feet of different coatings have been supplied.
Planned expansions and new project investments for APC include the establishment of hollow section tubes (square and rectangular) as well as a threading and coupling facility in Riyadh.
New pipe manufacturing and internal and external coating facilities are planned for a massive facility in Jubail Industrial City, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.
Commercial production of this technologically advanced world-scale manufacturing plant for large diameter 16 to 48 inch pipes up to API 5L X70 is expected in the third quarter of 2005. 
The high quality heavy wall pipes will be manufactured to the 'UOE' forming process and cold mechanical expansion by longitudinal seam submerged arc welded (LSAW).
The $67 million plant with have a name plate capacity of 180,000 tons per year, and an additional investment allocation of $22 million has been made for its first expansion to produce 100 inch pipes using helical submerged arc welding (HSAW) for water pipeline applications.  
APC is an export-led company and has already successfully supplied prestigious projects for leading companies in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Yemen and its corporate strategy is to develop exports markets further.
 APC has recently been awarded a contract to supply pipes to Dodsal Limited, the main contractor to supply, lay and commission a multi-product pipeline in the Republic of Sudan for ONGC Videsh Limited.
A consortium of APC and Saudi Steel Pipe Company Limited (SSP)in Dammam, will supply a 12-inch, 748 km pipeline for carrying various petroleum products from the Khartoum Refinery to Port Sudan.  These pipes will be longitudinally welded, electro-resistant and capable of bearing high-pressure at extremely severe environments.  APC and SSP will start manufacturing the steel pipes during the last quarter of 2004.
The Pipes will be delivered to the APC's coating factory for external 3-layer polyethylene coating, which process is intended to protect the pipes against rust and corrosion and to prolong the lifespan of the pipelines.  The pipes will then be delivered to the export port.
The two Saudi companies have been able to win this contract against a select of highly experienced Japanese, Asian and European bidders.
This is an indication of the high competitive capability of the steel pipe industry in Saudi Arabia and of the committee to the application of relevant state-of-the-art technologies.
Such abilities have been enhanced by the Saudi Iron & Steel Company (Hadeed), a subsidiary of Sabic and a leading coil manufacturer in the region, joining the consortium as the supplier of the steel coil raw materials used in producing the contracted US$38.6 million (SR 145 million) pipes.  The contract will be implemented by 100 per cent Saudi high industrial capabilities and expertise."
In addition to the latest win in Sudan, APC recently supplied pipelines to Abu Dhabi through a consortium of Technip and the National Petroleum Construction Company, for the Emirate's NEB project under the supervision of the Abu Dhabi Onshore Operations Company.
This contract, further strengthening APC's position within the Middle East and Asia, includes the supply of pipelines to carry crude oil from the Dhabya and Rumaitha oil fields to Hebshan and to other oil fields for a distance of 160 kilometers. The diameter of the pipelines will range between l2-inch and 20-inch linearly welded by electrical resistance capable of bearing high pressure and of surviving difficult environmental areas.
APC was able to win this contract against experienced competitors from Japan and Europe and is an indication of the company's increasing ability to compete internationally with its state-of-the-art manufacturing and coating technologies.
These contracts are part of several successes in establishing APC's technical and marketing abilities in Saudi Arabia, regionally and internationally.
This was the second consecutive project to be won by APC in Abu Dhabi, following the SR 7 million contract for the EPP I project.
APC is also contracted with Petrojet to supply 60 km of gas pipelines as part of a complementary work of one of the projects implemented by the company in Egypt.
APC is becoming one of the most active companies worldwide with an increasing presence in many international markets. In 2003, more than two-thirds of APC's sales were secured outside of Saudi Arabia.
APC is an advanced industrial enterprise specializing in manufacturing 16" to 20" diameter pipes plus polyethylene coating. Such products, which are manufactured to the highest international standards, meet the requirements of oil, gas and petrochemical companies, as well as companies operating in the agricultural and construction sectors.
The joint stock company has also invested more than $6 million to provide new equipment to replace and enhance the current facilities.
Its aim has been to target productivity and quality improvements that will give optimum benefits to customers throughout the region, in terms of price and quality, and ensure that they meet the most demanding specifications of customers worldwide in order to continue to develop the export market.
The developments follow on from recent enhancements at APC that have seen it become the first ERW manufacturer qualified and approved to the new Saudi Aramco specifications. Recently installed equipment by APC includes:
Strip Edge Milling Machine
The BKB 1100-1650 machine is the largest machine of its type available operating at speeds of up to 100 feet per minute covering the full range of APC products from 6" to 20" diameter, 3.2mm to 16mm wall thickness in grades up to X70.
The machine is equipped with two 1100mm diameter milling heads with 74 carbide inserts per head, each driven by 170kW AC speed-controlled motors that automatically control the rotational speed based on the Strip Line Speed.
The fully-automated machine is equipped with state-of-the-art CNC and PLC control and all axes have digital measuring systems with accuracy of 0.001mm to provide the exact finished strip width for forming and welding.
The Edge Milling machine, which replaces the Edge Shearing method previously employed, provides the cleanest, squarest strip edges possible and guarantees optimum quality edges as required by the most demanding of line pipe specifications for the High Frequency Welding process.
Seam Annealer
APC has installed a fourth in-line 1kHz Induction heater with a capacity of 500kW increasing the company's total seam heat treatment capacity to 2000kW. The unit is equipped with automatic temperature control and automatic seam following system and complements the Continuous Electronic Process Control system already employed at APC.
The additional heating power will allow APC to both increase manufacturing speeds and productivity whilst ensuring that the weld heat affected zone (HAZ) is fully normalised at optimum quality.
The improved metallurgical structure due to the additional heating ensures that even on products with high wall thickness the weld seam is homogeneous with the base metal.
The resulting weld area has consistent through-hardness, reduced grain size and improved impact results and meets the most stringent testing requirements employed for quality line pipe.
Ultrasonic Machines
APC has recently upgraded its automatic Ultrasonic Inspection systems to bring the ultrasonic testing equipment to the highest standard available.
All machines are equipped with automatic alarms, paint sprays and recording facilities and APC carries out static and dynamic calibration to the most stringent standards.
The Full-Body Ultrasonic Testing Machine has been upgraded both electronically and mechanically and now employs the Krautkramer USIP20 GP8 multi-channel flaw detector that can be fitted with up to eight 4-6MHz straight beam probes for detection of laminar defects in the pipe body.
The On-Line Ultrasonic Testing Machine has recently been modified to incorporate two large straight beam probes to test the area adjacent to the weld seam.
This test provides 100 per cent inspection for laminar defects in the strip edges as required for the most demanding service.
Marking Machines
APC has recently installed and commissioned two automatic Paint Marking machines installed to improve productivity and product traceability. Both machines are PC-based and interface directly with the APC Manufacturing Information System (MIS) to transfer pipe data with the automatic pipe length and weight measurement system.
The Dot Paint Marking Machine (DP) is a computer controlled two-axis manipulator used to identify the pipe with its unique number immediately after it is cut from the coil. The number is positioned at 90 degrees to the weld and is then used for identification throughout the process.
The Paint Jet Machine (PJ) utilises a state-of-the-art fully-automated multi-axis industrial robot machine to mark the Customer Information (Stencil) on each pipe.
The machine can perform both inside and outside surface marking and can mark up to 10 lines of information within 45 seconds.
All of the developments have been wholly managed and controlled by the highly qualified and experienced engineering and technical staff at APC.
Further significant investment is being planned and scheduled for phased commissioning over the next three to four years.
The strategy of APC is to meet and exceed the demands of its customers by adopting a process of continuous development to maintain and further develop its position and growing reputation as a world-class ERW pipe manufacturer.