Sweden’s Alleima opens expanded heat exchanger tube facility in Mehsana

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Sweden’s Alleima opens expanded heat exchanger tube facility in Mehsana

Sweden’s Alleima opens expanded heat exchanger tube facility in Mehsana

Industry News
Nov 24,23

Built with a total investment of SEK 180 million (approximately Rs 143 crore) between 2019-2023, the new facility will enhance capabilities to produce advanced alloys for making heat exchanger tubes, which are used for critical applications in the chemical, petrochemical and renewable energy segments.

Sweden’s Alleima opens expanded heat exchanger tube facility in Mehsana

Mehsana (Gujarat)

The Sweden-based Alleima - a leading manufacturer of high value-added products in advanced stainless steels, special alloys, and industrial heating – formally launched its new heat exchanger tube factory in Mehsana, Gujarat, on November 23, 2023. The company has invested SEK 180 million (approximately Rs 143 crore) for the expansion of its Mehsana manufacturing facility - the work for which started in 2019.

India currently stands as a global economic bright spot, emerging as a key player across various sectors. This growth is driving a significant increased domestic demand for chemical and petrochemical products, the rapid transition towards renewables and an increased shift towards localisation of manufacturing.

The new facility will enable Alleima to produce advanced alloys in heat exchanger tubing locally to meet the increasing demand for the high valued added tubes to India’s chemical and petrochemical, renewable and other industrial segments. It will also serve as a production base for exports to other parts of Asia. This signifies a major milestone for Alleima in India, as with the completion of its Hydraulic and Instrumentation (H&I) facility earlier this year, the Mehsana mill has now completed its three-phase expansion in production capacity and infrastructure.

“The Mehsana mill is an important facility in our journey towards increasing our footprint in India and in Asia. As part of our growth strategy, we are increasing capacity to serve the growing market for our application tubing products. Today, we are one of the leading players in the premium segment, and we see an increasing demand driven by the infrastructure expansion of chemical and petrochemical plants, refinery expansions and the growth in the renewable energy segment. This investment will be a key enabler to maintain our position and for continued profitable growth in the region,” stated Göran Björkman, President and CEO of Alleima.

Carl von Schantz, President of Tube division at Alleima, said, "Alleima's Mehsana mill plays a pivotal role in our expansion across Asia Pacific. In 2019, we embarked on a strategic initiative to enhance our capacity and capabilities in growth markets, culminating a three-phase expansion for India, which included a cold finishing heat exchanger tube manufacturing line that opened in 2020, a H&I tubing factory in March 2023, and now this brand-new heat exchanger tube facility. This expansion will increase heat exchanger tube capacity and capabilities to produce advanced alloys positioning us to capitalise on the growth opportunities arising from India's chemical and petrochemical industries over the next decade. It will also facilitate the transition to the renewable energy segments and enable us to capture the opportunities from the increased demand for locally manufactured products in India.”

Alleima’s presence in India includes its regional headquarters in Pune with a sales office and an R&D center. The production of seamless tube and pipes occur in Mehsana, while the Hosur facility in Kanthal specialises in industrial heating wires and heating systems. Alleima’s revenues for India during 2022 was SEK 613 million (approximately $ 60 million) compared to SEK 426 million in 2021. Since 2022, the revenue has grown even stronger. This represents one of Alleima’s significant business operations globally. This expansion, marked by the new facility’s completion, will enable Alleima to increase its staff strength in India to close to 400.

Sharath Satish, President of Tube Division in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) Region, Alleima, explained, “Alleima is committed to supporting the Government of India's Make in India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan mission towards making India self-reliant as we believe that they are essential for India's economic development. We are committed to continue investing in India and collaborate with our customers to propel India’s growth. This expanded Mehsana mill will allow us to enhance our capabilities in tubing application for the chemical and petrochemical sectors and enable us to move into the renewable segment.”

Alleima AB (formerly Sandvik Materials Technology) is a global manufacturer of high value-added products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys as well as solutions for industrial heating. The company’s offerings include products like seamless steel tubes for the energy, chemical and aerospace industries, precision strip steel for white goods compressors, air conditioners and knife applications, based on more than 900 active alloy recipes. It also includes ultra-fine wires for medical and micro-electronic devices, industrial electric heating technology and coated strip steel for fuel cell technology for cars, trucks, and hydrogen production. Headquartered in Sandviken (Sweden), Alleima recorded revenues of SEK 18.4 billion in 2022.

Alleima’s Mehsana mill produces advanced corrosion resistant tube, pipe and hollows for heat exchangers and process equipment across a wide range of industries. Grades range from austenitic stainless steel to duplexes and austenitic high nickel alloys. The mill has an advanced modern laboratory to test metals and particular tests are undertaken to measure the tensile strength, yield strength, test for flattening, flaring, grain size, micro characterization, and many others.