Tenaris in Sault Ste. Marie buys new robots, storage racks as part of $11M investment

Tenaris is spending $11 million to improve safety and automation in its Sault Ste. Marie industrial centre. (Supplied)

Tenaris is spending $11 million to improve safety and automation in its Sault Ste. Marie industrial centre.

The money is part of an ongoing $100 million plan for local industrial and automation improvements initiated in 2024, including new pipe storage racks and robots in the mill.

“The new pipe storage racks -- known as bins in the facility -- improves safety for operators handling the pipe bundles by allowing for wider walkways, creating more room to stand and reducing the risks of working at heights,” the company said in a news release Thursday.

“Aimed to enhance automation, the first of the four new robots is an automated stenciling solution, installed on the welded tubes line in February 2025. This robot performs a longer stencil, increasing the quality and clarity of pipe marking and simplifying product identification for operators at the rig.”

Three other robots will be installed later this year on the finishing line for a variety of functions, Tenaris said, “including automated coupling unloading and protector appliers to pipe threads to improve operator ergonomics and increase line efficiency.”

“We have a long-term vision for our manufacturing facility in Sault Ste. Marie and our operations across Canada,” Martín Castro, president of Tenaris in Canada, is quoted as saying in the news release.

“Pipe manufacturing plays a vital role in supporting the energy industry. Our investment plan looks to boost technology and infrastructure to benefit our employees, our customers and the surrounding community.”

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Tenaris is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of steel pipe products and related services for the world’s energy industry and other industrial applications.

Customers include most of the world’s leading oil and gas companies and company revenues amounted to US$12.5 billion in 2024.

“Employing around 26,000 people worldwide, we operate an integrated network of steel pipe manufacturing, research, finishing and service facilities with industrial operations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa and a direct presence in most major oil and gas markets,” the release said.