SMS Meer supplies gap closing press to ITZ

SMS Meer, Mönchengladbach, Germany, has supplied a 25-MN GCP® gap closing press to Izhorsky Trubny Zavod (ITZ), based in Kolpino near St. Petersburg, Russia. The machine has been integrated into an existing 18-m JCOE® large-diameter pipe mill that SMS Meer supplied in 2006.

The new gap closing press allows ITZ to produce pipes with small diameters and large wall thicknesses, used for long-distance overland lines. The heavy plate is formed quickly and precisely in an adapted process in the JCO® pipe forming press. The remaining gap then is reduced to a minimum in just a few steps using the new gap closing press, a prerequisite for tack welding.