1. From Round Steel to the "Industrial Vessels": The Technological Secrets of the Production Process of Baotou Steel Union Co., Ltd.
The production of seamless steel pipes starts with high-quality round steel raw materials. Relying on the technological accumulation of its parent company, Baotou Steel Group, Baotou Steel Union (Tianjin) Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. adopts the processes of diagonal rolling piercing and cold drawing. The round steel is heated to above 1100℃, and then extruded by a piercing machine to form seamless billet pipes. After that, through hot rolling or cold rolling for finishing processing, high-performance steel pipes with a wall thickness accuracy of up to 0.25mm are finally produced.The Φ460mm PQF hot rolling production line under the company can achieve a daily production capacity of 2,000 tons. Its products cover more than 20 categories, including petroleum casing pipes, high-pressure boiler pipes, etc., and are exported to markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
II. Architecture and Infrastructure Construction: Diverse Collaboration in the Steel Structure Network
In the field of architecture, seamless steel pipes form a complementary pattern with I-beams and channel steels. The I-beams provided by Baotou Steel Union (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. are used for the main girders of high-rise buildings, while the channel steels serve as the framework for curtain walls. Thanks to its lightweight advantage, seamless steel pipes have become the core material for the curved surface structures of the venues of the Hangzhou Asian Games. In 2024, the company's sales of steel for construction purposes exceeded 8 billion yuan. Among them, the sales volume of special-shaped seamless steel pipes increased by 35% year-on-year, and the simultaneously sold profiles such as angle steels and round steels also enjoyed brisk sales. In a logistics center project in the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone, the combined truss of channel steels and seamless steel pipes supplied by Baotou Steel Union reduced the weight of the building by 20%.
III. Energy Arteries: Dual Breakthroughs in Oil and Gas and New Energy
As a strategic partner of China National Petroleum Corporation, the seamless steel pipes of Baotou Steel Union Co., Ltd. account for 70% of the domestic oil and gas pipeline market. Its X80 grade pipeline steel certified by API 5L has been successfully applied to the China-Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline Project, with a pressure resistance capacity of up to 15MPa. In the field of new energy, the galvanized seamless steel pipes developed by the company are used for the supports of photovoltaic power stations in the Gobi Desert of Qinghai Province. They have a corrosion-resistant service life of up to 25 years, and the supporting angle steel truss structure increases the installation efficiency by 40%. In 2024, the company's export volume of steel for new energy applications increased by 28% year-on-year, and orders from solar energy projects in the Middle East accounted for more than 60%.
IV. Intelligent Mechanical Manufacturing: Precision Innovation from Automobiles to High-end Equipment
Cold-drawn precision seamless steel pipes have shown remarkable performance in the automotive industry. The battery cooling pipes with a wall thickness of 0.5mm customized for Tesla's Shanghai factory are 30% lighter than traditional materials. The transmission shafts made of its S45Cr alloy round steel have passed the certification of the German Bosch Group. In the field of medical equipment, the 316L stainless steel pipes produced by the company using the ultra-thin wall cold-rolling process are used for minimally invasive surgical instruments, breaking the technological monopoly of Europe and the United States.
V. Green Circular Economy: Industrial Upgrading Driven by the Concept of Environmental Protection
Baotou Steel Union (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. took the lead in launching the recycled steel pipe program. It transforms waste oil pipes into urban flower racks and bus stops, with an annual recycling volume exceeding 100,000 tons. The rare earth alloy steel pipes developed by the company make use of the unique rare earth resources of Baotou Steel, and their corrosion resistance has been increased by 50%. These pipes have been applied to the construction of marine platforms in the Bohai Bay. The company has also introduced the "steel pipe + I-beam" carbon neutrality package. The products certified by the carbon footprint help European customers achieve their ESG goals.
VI. Future Layout: Expansion and Collaboration in the Global Market
At the Summit on the High-quality Development of Seamless Steel Pipes in 2025, Baotou Steel Union Co., Ltd. announced an investment of 500 million yuan to build an intelligent warehousing center, enabling AI-based goods allocation for profiles such as round steel and I-beams. The delivery cycle will be shortened to 72 hours. The company stated, "We will deepen the combined sales strategy of'steel pipes + profiles' and provide a full set of solutions from design to construction for the Belt and Road Initiative projects." Currently, the natural gas pipeline project in Kazakhstan has purchased 36,000 tons of seamless steel pipes and supporting angle steels from Baotou Steel Union Co., Ltd., with a contract value of 230 million euros.
