CONROE, TX-Tenaris announced that it will invest $70 million to build a new sucker rods mill, with completion scheduled for the second half of 2014. Once online, the facility will have a production capacity of 1.8 million units per year and will bring 200 jobs to the region.

According to a release from the state of Texas' economic and development tourism division, the mill will be adjacent to the company's already existing welded tubes mill located at 699 N. Farm-to-Market 3083 Rd. E. The company currently has sucker rods production facilities in Argentina, Brazil, Romania and Mexico. With the new mill, Tenaris will increase its annual production capacity in sucker rods to over 4 million units.

A sucker rod is a steel rod threaded at both ends, and used in the oil industry to connect surface and downhole components of a piston pump in an oil well. Tenaris' new mill will include non-destructive testing (NDT), forging lines, heat treatment and threading and finishing processes, a coupling shop and a centralizer line. A high level of automation in the operations will improve efficiency and reduce production times.