November 2012, Vol. 239 No. 11

In The News

TMK IPSCO Opens R&D Center In Houston

TMK IPSCO, the North American division of global pipe manufacturer OAO TMK, hosted an open house Oct. 1 at its new Research & Development Center at 10120 Houston Oaks Drive. Visitors toured several areas including the scanning electron microscope (SEM) lab, areas housing mechanical and collapse testing equipment, the corrosion lab and a section featuring connection load testers.

Prasenjit Adhikari, vice president and chief technology officer, TMK IPSCO, commented on the R&D Center’s development: “Since moving into the new center in early January, we have been busy acquiring many of the key pieces of testing equipment that will enable us to turn our R&D vision into a reality.”

The Center serves as the heart of the company’s innovation initiatives – new product design and development, experimental and validation testing, and advanced metallurgical research – and is a key part of its long-term strategy to drive growth in oil and gas markets.

The open house was attended by TMK IPSCO’s key customers and suppliers from throughout the energy market. The event hosted key government officials, including Esperanza “Hope” Andrade, Texas Secretary of State; State Sen. Rodney Ellis; Houston City Council Members Oliver Pennington and Helena Brown; as well as Alexander Zakharov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Houston. Members of the national and local media were also in attendance.

“We’re pleased so many guests were able to attend the open house and see our commitment to innovation first hand,” said Vicki Avril, president, CEO, TMK IPSCO. “One cornerstone of our long-term strategy is product and service development for oil and gas industry customers. Having a fully functioning R&D Center will better enable us to focus on customized, engineered solutions for non-traditional drilling environments as well as on new applications and services for existing products.”