BMB continues to invest in the line pipe market and take part in big international projects

The leading industrial and service conglomerate of Turkey, Borusan has been among the pioneers of corporate governance in Turkey throughout its 65 years of history. The group currently operates in four major business areas including steel, distributorship, logistics and energy.

Founded in 1958 as Borusan Group's first industrial enterprise, Borusan Mannesmann Boru (BMB) has a long and successful track record of getting tenders and completing oil and gas pipelines projects both in Turkey and abroad. An important example of these accomplishments is the Elba Express Natural Gas Pipeline Project in the United States, which was completed in 2009. For this project, BMB not only produced the 312 km of spirally SAW welded pipes, but the Company also handled logistics, shipping, pipe yard preparation, double jointing, inspecting and onsite delivery of the pipes.

Elba Express Natural Gas Pipeline Project is one of the projects that clearly show BMB's success in being a reliable partner and a total solution provider. From production to onsite delivery, the project required very difficult and delicate applications. 24 m long pipes were performed at site by BMB. After the 24 m, double-jointed parts were fully inspected; they were loaded onto special trucks with rear steering. Borusan Logistics, another company of Borusan Group specializing in providing integrated logistics services, handled the special logistics requirements of the operation.

BMB provides complete solutions for projects

Recently, BMB won the contract for the 'Ellund Egtved Natural Gas Pipeline Project,' the 94-km gas pipeline project in Denmark. When the project is completed, BMB's pipes will make up 10% of the natural gas pipelines in the country. Within the scope of the project, which will make the Company the first Turkish steel pipe company to export gas pipes to Denmark, BMB will produce 6,300 pipes for the 94-km pipeline. The project will extend Jutland peninsula's natural gas pipeline, aiming to strengthen the competition in the gas market and protect Denmark and Sweden's future resources.

The start of BMB's huge success was the Company's great work at the Turkey leg of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project, for which it received significant references. Projects that followed include important ones such as Blue Stream, Iran - Turkey natural gas pipeline, Shahdeniz 1 Pipeline, Turkey - Greece natural gas pipeline, Hungary natural gas pipeline and OH4, NK-1, L22, GZ-1 and GR4 in Algeria. After the success of the Elba Express Pipeline Project, BMB also completed the 212 km long, US$75 million Tennessee Line Project, which aimed to carry gas to the state of New Jersey.

Market leader in Turkey, leading manufacturer in Europe

BMB is the market leader in Turkey and one of the leading steel pipe manufacturers in Europe. The Company continues its production activities at its Gemlik, Halkalı, İzmit and Vobarno / Italy plants, having a total annual production capacity of 1 million tons. The product range includes water pipes, line pipes, oil & water well casing pipes, pressure tubes, hollow sections, mother tubes and precision tubes. BMB produces these pipes for various sectors including energy, automotive, plumbing, household appliances and furniture production. The Company also exports its pipes to more than 40 countries.

Embracing Borusan Group's corporate culture, BMB follows the "customer focus, integrity, continuous differentiation" philosophy. Acting as a loyal partner and focusing on high quality products and services, the Company's goal is to meet the needs of its customers. With the Lean Six Sigma methodology, which is extensively used throughout the Borusan Group companies, BMB improves its business processes and raises the bar for customer satisfaction. While strengthening its modern business culture, BMB also boosts its innovative approaches.

With its strong corporate culture and success in important projects, BMB continues to increase its global competitive edge. Having great expertise in oil and gas pipes, the Company has a project management team that handles the international pipeline projects' contracts. Working with Borusan Logistics also gives BMB more advantages in the competition. In addition, the strong performance of the employees is among the factors that enable the delivery of high quality of products and services.

BMB continues to increase its capacity with investments

BMB has taken some important steps in the Turkish pipe market. First was the investment of the Gemlik plant at the sea side. This was followed by Borusan partnering up with Salzgitter Mannesmann in 1998, Europe's leading tube and steel company, which was a milestone for BMB. In 2002, the purchasing of the Vobarno plant in Italy also added to BMB's capacity and international visibility.

Aiming to meet different demands of the market both in Turkey and abroad, BMB continues to invest in increasing its capacities. In 2010, BMB started to establish a new facility with an annual production capacity of 250,000 tons in Gemlik, where the Company's biggest production facility is already located. This new facility will cost around US$100 million and manufacture API-grade large diameter line pipes that are used in the energy industry.

The new facility has state of the art production technology, capability and flexibility. It also has a strategically important location in Gemlik and is adjacent to Borusan Port. This will bring competitive advantages including those in inbound and outbound logistics costs and efficiency improvement in inventory management.

The new facility is designed especially to meet the most difficult specifications of oil and gas pipeline projects all around the world. Besides many technical production advantages, the facility will also be able to produce line pipes of X80 grade; with 25.4 mm wall thickness and 24m length. Also the integrated OD&ID coating system in the brand new coating facility enables flexibility in terms of production flow. Different types of coatings like PE, PP, FBE, Dual-layer FBE, FCE, SFE can be done in the new coating facility.

Investing in high-end product segments, BMB continues to increase the amount of value it creates for its stakeholders as well as customers. Having targeted Turkey, Europe, North Africa, Middle East and America as regions for growth, BMB is following up on project availabilities at these places. As a proven reliable pipe supplier, BMB's next biggest targets are the Nabucco and South Stream projects.

BMB's goal for the upcoming period is to achieve growth both in Turkey and abroad. The Company is also increasing its export activities, as well as evaluating new project chances.