Yalian Steel opens LSAW pipe plant in Jiangsu Province

Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009

Yalian Steel Corporation announced that the company held the grand opening of its new manufacturing facility in the City of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China on October 16th 2009. Government officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Jiangsu Province and Yangzhou Municipal Government, Consul General of the Canadian Consulate General in Shanghai were on hand for the ceremony as well as several of the directors and senior officers of Yalian Steel from the parent company headquartered in Vancouver BC and senior officials from the domestic steel companies.

The construction of the Longitudinally Submerged Arc Welded Pipe production line commenced in June of 2008 and was completed on time and within its projected budget. All civil construction for the main Yangzhou Yalian plant and ancillary buildings has now been completed. All of the equipment required for the production line have been delivered and installed and the facility is fully staffed with production line operators, technicians, and engineers for the lab, testing, and quality control operations. Yangzhou Yalian completed its plant commissioning on August 31st 2009 as scheduled.

Mr Edward M Siegel Jr chairman & acting CEO of Yalian Steel said "We are very pleased with the proficiency in which our first facility was completed, and the support demonstrated by our local partners. This is a very exciting time for Yalian. The completion of the Yangzhou facility marks the first significant milestone in our growth plan and our entry into a very dynamic oil and gas transmission market here in China. Yalian's early mover advantage, strong partnerships, and quality products provide us with the ingredients for success as we begin to ramp up our sales and production activities."

The Company also announced today that it will construct a new anticorrosion coating line on the land it had previously reserved north of the Yangzhou Yalian JCOE production line. It will not only complete the existing JCOE production line but also provide pipe coating services to other manufacturers. The new line is an essential part of Yalian's business development plans and integration within its industrial chain. The anticorrosion function of the pipe plays an important role in extending the longevity of the product, saves energy and also decreases environmental safety accidents that could be caused by leakage of fluids carried by the line pipe. As a large and growing oil and gas consumer, China is forecasting continued growth in oil/gas transmission pipeline project construction, especially for high-grade steel large diameter line pipe. The new line is estimated to cost CAD 5.3 million and will be financed by cash on hand or debt.