Plant to expand, creating 30 jobs

Thanks to the missteps of Chinese manufacturers, a Berkeley County pipe company will be able to expand its operation and create an estimated 30 jobs during the next year.

Welded Tube-Berkeley, an operation that bends thin strips of steel into pipes, announced Thursday that it will begin making another type of piping at its Huger plant.

The plant's roughly 30 workers now make pipes for fire sprinkler systems that are installed in commercial buildings and — less commonly — for handrails, fitness equipment and patio furniture.

The company's current business has lagged along with commercial development, said president Maryann Wagner. But company officials are planning to install additional equipment that will allow company workers to produce a more "sophisticated" product that can be used for heavy duty purposes.

The new production line will produce pipes that utility companies can use to handle steam, air and liquids. That type of product calls for an additional manufacturing process and additional testing but will not be used for fire sprinkler systems.

Chinese manufacturers supplied most of that pipe product until recently, when international trade officials cited them for selling prices that violate trade laws, explained executive vice president Robert "Butch" Mandel. The illegal practice is formally called dumping.

"The Chinese have exited the market, and that creates a significant void that we expect to fill with our operation down here," Mandel told local economic development leaders who gathered Thursday at the Charleston Regional Development Alliance's headquarters in North Charleston.

Welded Tube of Canada, the business's parent company, acquired the operation in 2004. Officials at its Ontario headquarters decided to expand the South Carolina site over another manufacturing plant it operates in Ohio, which is located less than an hour by plane from the company's headquarters.

Company officials said they picked South Carolina for its business-friendly climate, its existing staff and the location's tight supply chain. The operations are currently located close to Nucor Steel, which supplies it with material, and a company that cuts the steel into thin strips.

ReadySC, a branch of the state's technical college system, will teach new employees how to operate the complicated machinery. To apply, visit www.sctechjobs.com.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.