Paderborn, Germany / Shreveport, USA, November 20, 2024. BENTELER today celebrated the opening of a new threading line at its US facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. “We are strengthening our Shreveport plant with a multi-million dollar investment. This is a significant milestone for our company and a clear statement of our ongoing commitment to our customers. Previously, our tubes for the oil and gas market left the Shreveport plant as so-called 'green tubes', requiring further processing by external companies before they could be used at drilling sites. With the new threading line, we will now carry out these process steps in-house," says Thomas Michels, Chief Operating Officer of the BENTELER Steel/Tube Division. 

USD 20 million investment: BENTELER demonstrates ongoing commitment to the Shreveport site

BENTELER is investing around USD 20 million in the plant extension, further establishing the plant in US state of Louisiana as one of the most advanced of its kind in North America. The plant produces OCTG (Oil Country Tubular Goods) tube products such as casings, tubings and drill pipes. 

Kai Christian Zimmermann, Executive Vice President North America, BENTELER Steel/Tube, explains: "With the new threading line, we are expanding our value chain and thereby enhancing our proximity to our end customers. The new process steps significantly reduce lead times for our customers. In particular, we are now better positioned to serve customers more competitively in both the Mid-Continent region and the Rocky Mountains." 

In addition to this new plant, for which the company has built a new hall, numerous strategic investments have already been made to strengthen its market position. These include expanding the range of tube dimensions up to an outer diameter of 6 inches and developing and implementing new steel grades such as sour gas-resistant steels. 

BENTELER to create 32 new jobs in the Shreveport-Bossier region

With the expansion of the value chain, BENTELER will initially create 32 direct jobs at the Shreveport site when the new plant goes into operation. At full capacity, this number could increase to as many as 49 new jobs. 

Dustin Niemoeller, Shreveport Plant Manager for BENTELER Steel/Tube, explains: "This is great news for the entire region. And we’re doing even more: Together with our partners NLPE (North Louisiana Economic Partnership) and BPCC (Bossier Parish Community College), we launched the FAME program, which combines classroom and lab instruction with hands-on experience in the workplace. This program trains young people over a two-year period for the multi-faceted role of production/maintenance technician.” In addition, BENTELER collaborates with Louisiana State University in Shreveport, offering students internship opportunities within the company.

The BENTELER Group, the parent company of BENTELER Steel/Tube, operates six locations in the USA and employs around 1,700 people, with 350 currently based in Shreveport. In October of this year, BENTELER announced a double-digit million dollar investment in its automotive plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.