THEY DID IT! Tianda Chuzhou delivers NEW VAM Premium connections to Saudi Aramco
The story began in June 2023, when Tianda Chuzhou started industrializing NEW VAM premium connections, to meet growing market demand and as part of the New Vallourec plan to enhance Vallourec Tianda’s product offering. The mission was not an easy one. The transition from API connections to NEW VAM connections posed several challenges, such as assessing and upgrading equipment, strengthening the quality system and meeting tight deadlines.
At the same time, in September 2023, Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil companies and a crucial customer for Vallourec, signed an order for the production and delivery of around 10,000 pipes and couplings of grade L80-1, size 7′. The order was awarded to Tianda Chuzhou, with delivery scheduled for April 2024. Tianda managed all stages of production, from tube rolling and heat treatment to threading of premium fittings and packaging.
A double challenge for our Chinese team: industrializing the connection and delivering our customer on time
The Tianda team, with the support of the VAM TCC department, then pulled out all the stops, enabling the mission to be crowned with success. In December 2023, the new connection was officially qualified, along with the VAM® TOP connection. And as good news never comes alone, production of this first order was completed in three months, enabling Saudi Aramco to be delivered on schedule.
To speed up delivery, the Tianda Chuzhou and VAM TCC teams took on several challenges:
- Equipment Upgrades: Two old lathes were upgraded to increase production efficiency and bridge the capacity shortfall of couplings.
- Optimization: Several Continuous Improvement Teams (CITs) were rapidly set up in the first month of NEW VAM® production to address bottlenecks and reduce threading cycle times.
- Production Ramp-Up: The production ramp-up was successfully completed within a span of four weeks.
Future Prospects
Having successfully produced and delivered this contract on time positions Tianda as a solid supplier of premium connections, ready to meet the demands of the most prestigious customers in both domestic and international markets.
The success of this order for Saudi Aramco marks a major turning point for Vallourec Tianda. Not only does it enable the company to reach a significant milestone in the industrialization of high-end connections, but it also represents a significant step forward in the strategy of the New Vallourec. We will continue to promote team spirit among the project team members in charge of industrializing NEW VAM® connections, to meet challenges, to promote Tianda's premium strategy, and to create more value for our customers.
