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An April 2009 photo of the Berg Spiral Pipe factory. (Courtesy)
MOBILE, Alabama -- Steel pipemaker Berg Pipe was awarded another contract for two pipeline projects in the Southeastern U.S., adding to the company's backlog. The deal calls for about 625 miles of pipeline to existing natural gas infrastructure in the southeastern U.S., the company announced this week.
Steel would be shipped from multiple suppliers to Germany firm Europipe Gmbh's two Gulf Coast steel mills. In Mobile, the company owns and operates Berg Spiral Pipe and its sister company Berg Steel Pipe is based in Panama City, Fla.
The work will be split almost 50-50 between the two mills, said Jonathan Kirkland, the company's director of sales.
Berg already employs 225 people at its factory in the Plateau community north of downtown Mobile. The facility can produce as much as 180,000 tons of steel annually.
"With the booking of these additional operations it will allow for a continuous two-shift operation into 2016," Kirkland said, adding that the exact quantity each facility will produce is still "a little bit of a moving target."
The order will supply 30-inch and 36-inch steel pipe for the Sabal Trail Transmission and the Florida Southeast Connection, a pipeline project that will start in southwest Alabama and transport natural gas to Georgia and into Florida.
The Sabal Trail Transmission is a joint venture between Spectra Energy Partners, LLC and NextEra Energy, Inc. that will stop in central Florida, connecting with the Florida Southeast Connection, which will extend into South Florida.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley praised the company for providing "job opportunities for the people in Mobile and the surrounding areas," according to a prepared statement.
Berg Spiral Pipe first opened its $96 million facility in 2008.