15/06/2020 - VAM
As a world leader in premium tubular solutions serving the oil & gas, power generation, and industry applications, Vallourec continues to build new customer experiences through innovative solutions. The new VAM® SPRINT Series is a great example of the Vallourec culture that listens to our customers’ needs and reacts quickly to provide a solution in an ever-changing market environment.Onshore drilling operators are always looking for ways to improve efficiency while lowering costs. For Vallourec, this means optimizing the design of our products in ways that improve quality without increasing cost.
Julien Durand Industrialization Manager, VAM USA
Improving design with cross-functional collaboration
Allowing the manufacturing product engineering teams to join early on helped improve design and ensure cost-effective production.Vallourec Tube Alloy: ready to support customers
Production teams from VAM USA and Vallourec Tube-Alloy remained in alignment thanks to weekly meetings, which resulted in faster trials and a rapid industrialization for both entities. The physical proximity of teams was also a major advantage. “Having experts from both teams on hand during the trials helped with troubleshooting and identifying improvements,” Julien adds.This tight collaboration was an important factor in speeding up the project timetable. A lot goes into threading a connection: we need the correct inserts and the correct programming for the machines that cut the threads.
Celine Louvrier Head of Engineering Department at Vallourec Tube-Alloy
VAM® Field Service: adding value in the field
VAM® Field Service also came on board during the industrialization stage to make sure their field technicians were prepared to support the connection and to ensure tools such as stabbing guides and lift plugs were ready. As a result, they are fully prepared to support the customer before, during and after running.A connection can be easy to manufacture. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy to run in the field. VAM® SPRINT-SF is an easy to run connection, that features a tapered dovetail thread design that stabs deep, allowing fast make up with very low risk of cross-threading.
Joe Hill Director of Field Services at VAM USA
All on board to provide end-to-end value to customers
Full production of the 5 ½” 20# VAM® SPRINT-SF, has begun in Texas and will be begin soon in Ohio. 5” 18# is next in the queue.