The Basque manufacturer Tubos Reunidos is preparing to face a new stage in its activity with the presentation of a strategic plan 2021-2026, after receiving the approval of the SEPI last July of aid worth 112.8 million.
This economic injection, which comes through the Fund for Support to the Solvency of Strategic Companies (FASEE), launched by the central government to reinforce the business solvency of non-financial companies affected by the pandemic, becomes a real ‘lifesaver ‘for Tubos Reunidos to address its transformation and move towards decarbonisation.
Clean energies and hydrogen
The 112.8 million participative loan will allow Tubos Reunidos to tackle new markets and sectors of activity, with a special presence in clean energy and hydrogen.
In accordance with the objectives of the Strategic Plan 2020-2026, the aid will have three destinations: improvement of processes and efficiency with greater digitization; reduction of the carbon footprint through innovation and productive and product improvements; and training plans.
The strategic plan includes 60 million of investment and includes closing the drawing plant in Pamplona and the Productos Tubulares steelworks, located in Trápaga (Vizcaya), whose personnel will move to the Alava factory in Amurrio. The intention is to have a single steelworks in the group and a single drawing facility located in that town.
Specifically, in Amurrio the group’s new steelworks will start up after investing in new digital technologies to improve processes, reduce costs through increases in efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions, and improve the ability to innovate and develop new products. .
Seamless steel tube manufacturing activity will be boosted at the Biscayan facilities
According to the group, the creation in the coming months of this new group steelworks is “key to the development of the transformation and growth strategy”. Specifically, it will make it possible to combine the know-how and experience of the Trápaga and Amurrio teams “in a modern and efficient group steelworks.”
This operation involves the transfer of the Biscayan steel mill team, some 70 workers out of a total of 415, to Amurrio. This new group steelworks will serve the tube manufacturing processes in Trápaga and Amurrio.
Meanwhile, the Biscayan facilities will promote the activity of manufacturing seamless steel tubes in carbon, alloy and stainless steels, hot rolled, of large diameter, and will invest in new digital technologies, innovation and development of new products. Tubos Reunidos considers this activity key for the growth strategy in new sectors of activity.
For its part, Amurrio will promote the activity of manufacturing seamless steel tubes in carbon and alloy steels, hot rolled and cold drawn, with a diameter of up to 7 inches with investment, also, in digital technologies and development of new products. Thus, it will contribute to growth in new segments, says the Basque group.
Digital technologies
Also, in the coming months a new “modern and efficient” cold drawing center will be created – according to Tubos Reunidos – in the existing one in Amurrio, combining the knowledge and experience of its teams in Pamplona and Amurrio. “For this, it will be invested in new digital technologies, improving the efficiency of production processes and the development of new products. This will imply the closure of the drawing plant in Pamplona and the transfer of its 38 workers to Amurrio”.
The reorganization of the industrial activities of the Tubos Reunidos Group foresees the merger of these three group companies: Tubos Reunidos Industrial, Productos Tubulares and Acecsa into a single one, which will contribute “to the optimization of costs, improvement of flexibility and to be more agile in order to adapt the service to the changing market demand “, they comment from the Basque group.
Currently, the company has five production units: Tubos Reunidos Industrial, based in Amurrio, Álava, Tubos Reunidos Premium Threads, located in Subillabide, Álava, Productos Tubulares, in Trápaga, Vizcaya, and Acecsa, in Pamplona (Navarra) and RDT Inc (Texas, USA).
No EREs or traumatic exits
The Tubos Reunidos 2021-2026 plan does not include the submission of any Employment Regulation File (ERE), although non-traumatic exits such as early retirement are planned. The president of Tubos Reunidos, Francisco Irazusta, affirms that the implementation of the plan will allow the group -which closed 2020 with losses of 101.3 million- “to look to the future and be part of the energy transition, in a decarbonized economy and sustainable”.
