Steel pipe manufacturer, Tex-Isle Inc., recently announced the construction of a new mill in Robstown, TX. This is the fourth major project Tex-Isle has undertaken in the past 10 years.

The mill is a major milestone as the company’s first move into ERW pipemaking and will complement its current operations which include heat treatment, inspection and threading as well as external and internal coating facilities.

With the culmination of this project, Tex-Isle will complete its transition from a distributor to a manufacturer. The firm recently announced the decision to sell oil country tubular goods (OCTG) products exclusively through distribution. Andy Mejia, Tex-Isle’s commercial director, recently discussed the sales strategy.

“We are going to be very distributor-driven and will only be selling OCTG products through a strict authorized network,” he says. “Our goal is to bring value to being a distributor for Tex-Isle.”

The company is currently vetting distributors with the goal of selecting five by October of this year in conjunction with mill trials.

“Tex-Isle is an extremely disciplined company and intends to impose that on our sales process,” says Mejia.

The company plans to continue to service its current customers as usual until January 1, when it will officially make the change to selling OCTG solely through its distribution network.