Tata Steel Tubes Works are located in Oosterhout, Zwijndrecht and Maastricht. The manufacturing capabilities are approx 0,4 mio tonnes per year of welded tube using steel strip supplied by Tata Steel plants of Ijmuiden and Port Talbot. The Tubes are used in a range of applications, including construction, lifting and excavating, energy and power market sectors.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Resource use and waste management

Water extraction

Transport impacts

Employment and skills

Local communities

Performance data

Greenhouse gas emissions

The only greenhouse gas emissions are emissions of carbon dioxide resulting from the galvanizing process, annealing process and the heating of buildings. Key focus areas for reduction in CO₂ relate to the efficient use of natural gas on furnace operations and electrical efficiency. Initiatives include:

• Flexibility of the workforce to allow manning to be moved between mills so that the gas-fired furnaces can be run as energy efficiently as possible
• Upgrading energy efficient lighting and motors
• Improvements in energy monitoring to identify areas of energy wastage and opportunities to improve
• Reconfiguration of the site processes to improve material flow and handling

TS Tubes NL is covered by a new energy efficiency governance process established within Tata Steel Europe, whereby its energy performance has been compared to a benchmark as part of a gap analysis exercise. The site has generated a range of schemes aimed at bridging the gap with best practice. Internal targets for improvement have been established and Tata Steel Europe’s Chief Technical Officer and his direct reports review the progress of each site towards these on a quarterly basis.

Resource use and waste management

In line with our objective to reduce / eliminate wastes to landfill, we have enacted a number of waste reduction strategies at our plants in NL. Initiatives include:

• Total site waste management contract awarded in 2011 which has identified new opportunities to divert wastes from landfill to recycling and recovery routes.
• Recycling of Dry Mixed Recyclable (DMR) wastes was introduced in 2011, whereby paper, cardboard and other recyclable materials are segregated at source
• Monitoring of process parameters, i.e. coolant strength, paint thickness, to enable efficient usage of raw materials
• Programme to reduce oil usage and oil waste
• Through-process usage of steel is monitored to maximise production of finished tubes and minimisation scrap steel
• Using High Strength Steel to reduce the amount of steel in customers applications

Water extraction

Tata Steel Tubes NL has enacted a number of improvements to optimize its water consumption, for example:

• Improving the flexibility of the water supply to be able to supply water based on demand
• Closed loop cooling in galvanizing process

Transport impacts

Transport impacts are managed centrally within Tata Steel and, as such, it is not possible to disaggregate the transport impacts associated with the production and delivery of specific products from specific locations from the total estimate of Tata Steel transport impacts.

As shipping and logistics activities are managed centrally within Tata Steel it is not possible to disaggregate the CO₂ emissions associated with the production and delivery of specific products from specific locations from the total estimate of Tata Steel transport impacts. See the general page for [information on Tata Steel’s transport impacts] and some of the steps we are taking to reduce these.

Employment and skills

We apply a common approach to employment and skills at all, of its sites. In house Electronic Learning Environment and Sustainable Employability Programme has been established. See also the general page for information on what Tata Steel is doing to advance the learning and development of its employees.

Local communities

Tata Steel Tubes NL engages in a range of community initiatives, for example:

• Building relationships with local schools and colleges, facilitating work experience placements, offering engineering apprenticeships
• Participation in partnerships between companies in the three industrial zones on e.g. sustainability
• Supporting a local charity and organizing fundraising activities at Tata Steel Tubes NL during the year
• Fundraising activities for National Cancer Fund (KWF): Various games, Catering, Raffle/Lottery
• Sponsoring community in kind to various sports clubs  
• provide facilities for sport activities (e.g,. dog training)
• joint use of facilities (quay, area etc.)

Performance data