SEAPI, DST to cooperate

JAKARTA (JP): Local steel pipe company PT South East Asia Pipe Industries (SEAPI) agreed here on Friday to cooperate with Argentinean steel pipe company Dalmine Siderca Tamsa (DST) to upgrade the quality of its products.

SEAPI president Abas F. Soeriawidjaja said the Argentinean company would help SEAPI improve the quality of its pipes in a bid to increase its exports.

"DST will support SEAPI pipe production to develop its export markets, including the Middle East," Abas said following the signing of the agreement.

Abas said SEAPI, part of Bakrie & Brothers, planned to export 5,000 tons of longitudinally welded steel pipes to Iran this year.

The cooperation with DST is the initial step in the long-term project to merge SEAPI with PT Seamless Pipe Indonesia Jaya, another subsidiary of Bakrie & Brothers, Abas said.

SEAPI has the capacity to produce 200,000 tons a year of longitudinally welded steel pipes with a diameter of between 24 inches and 48 inches. (03)