TPCO America Corporation has filed an air permit application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the construction and operation of the TPCO America Texas Mill, a minimill facility that will manufacture steel products from recycled scrap steel.  The Texas Mill is expected to produce 500,00 metric tons of pipes per year.  The Texas Mill will be located east of Gregory, Texas, between State Highway 35 and State Highway 361 in San Patricio County on a 250 acre site.  The estimated capital cost for this facility is $1 billion including pollution prevention equipment.  Construction of the facility began in late 2010 with operation beginning in late 2012.

A minimill is a steel manufacturing process that melts down scrap steel using an electric arc furnace (EAF) to manufacture new products.  This process allows the Texas Mill to save energy and reduce costs compared to manufacturing its products from iron ore.  Using recycled scrap steel to manufacture new, top-quality products produces less slag.

This molten steel melted in the EAF will be conditioned using a ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) to ensure that the steel product meets technical and quality specifications.  Ultimately, the minimill will create steel billets for further processing. 

The Texas Mill will also contain a pipe mill, which creates high-quality seamless steel pipe from the billets made in the minimill.  This seamless steel pipe can be used for oil and gas well casings and tubing, line pipe and other similar applications.  The primary market for the pipe is the U.S. along with Canada, South America and West Africa.

NEW DIRECT JOBS

• The Texas Mill will create at least 300 new direct jobs in the first year of operation.

• Additional employees will be hired in years 2 & 3, resulting in a total of 400-600 new jobs.

• Salaries and benefits will produce a total estimated annual payroll of $18 million.

• Jobs range from equipment operators to instrumentation technicians to office/clerical to other skilled crafts to managers.

LOCAL ECONOMIC GROWTH

According to a study done by Impact Data Source for the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation, the project will generate new local tax revenues exceeding $37 million for local taxing districts in San Patricio County, including school district revenues and local sales taxes.  (Total tax revenues are subject to further tax abatement negotiations.)  The ten-year economic impact of the project will be $2.7 billion with $327 million in direct salaries for workers.

TPCO America Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tianjin Pipe (Group) Corporation (TPCO), which is one of the world's largest seamless steel pipe manufacturers.  TPCO is headquartered in the third largest city in China, Tianjin, a dynamic and rapidly growing economic center in North China.  TPCO exports its products to over 90 countries and regions, including the U.S.  TPCO is developing its first American facility near Gregory, Texas, to better serve its customers.  TPCO currently has long term business relationships with major oil and gas companies, such as Chevron, Shell, EOG Resources and Apache Corp.  An American facility will allow U.S. businesses to purchase goods made in the U.S. with local labor.

Although a great deal of TPCO's emphasis is on the oil and gas industry, TPCO's products were also used in the construction of the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube and other venues of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.  Known internationally for the quality of its products, TPCO designs and manufactures according to recognized industry standards and specifications.  TPCO's Tianjin operation is ISO 9001 certified for quality management and meets American Petroleum Institute Specification Q1 for quality system standards.  Additionally, the Tianjin facility is ISO 14001 environmental management system certified.

A leader in environmental protection in China, TPCO is committed to the environment and providing a green, healthy and clean workplace for its employees and for the surrounding cities and communities.  In fact, TPCO has reforested land surrounding the Tianjin facility and has established a wild game and animal preserve on the facility's property.