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Tube/pipe safety conference scheduled for September

The Extrusion, Drawing, and Tube Reducing (EDTR) Council of the Tube & Pipe Association (TPA), Rockford, Ill., will hold a roundtable event, "Linking Safety to Productivity With Pipe and Tube," Sept. 18-20 at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside in Wilmington, N.C.

"We will focus on safety and how it links to a company's productivity, because it was a topic that came up repeatedly during our previous roundtable," said Gary Pashia, chairman of the EDTR Council and process quality manager for Cerro Flow Products. "Attendees will hear a safety success story from Haynes Intl. and have many opportunities to discuss challenges and solutions with peers and industry experts through roundtables and networking events."

Three roundtables will focus on casting and extrusion, cold drawing, and pilger mill/tube reducing. Attendees also can participate in the following five group discussions:

  1. Safety and your process
  2. Safety and your maintenance program
  3. Open discussion on safety topics
  4. Product defect solutions
  5. Tooling control

In addition to the group sessions, attendees may tour the Global Nuclear Fuel's FCO (Fuel Component Organization) in Wilmington. The FCO is a manufacturing facility for nuclear fuel tubing (cladding), channels, and water rod assemblies. The tour will include pilger mills, tube preparation equipment, annealing furnaces, cleaning lines, a straightening and polishing line, a pilger die grinder, the tube inspection area, and the channel manufacturing area.

An optional tour of the USS North Carolina battleship, which features many uses of tubing, is planned for Sunday, Sept. 18. A networking reception on the ship also is planned.