Seamless tube production for the automotive, industrial, and energy sectors requires dimensional accuracy, consistent surface quality, and full traceability. As market pressure intensifies, customers are increasingly demanding faster product launches, tighter tolerances, and reduced scrap. In response, BENTELER Steel/Tube and SMS group have translated their longstanding collaboration into a unified modernization strategy, delivering measurable operational advantages across BENTELER’s seamless tube mills in Europe and the United States.
What began with the installation of an SMS MEER seamless tube mill in Dinslaken in 1991 has evolved into a lasting partnership built on mutual technological exchange and a shared commitment to modernization.
Paderborn mill: MEERgauge and SurfTec rollout for consistent product surface control
Between 2019 and 2024, BENTELER initiated a series of modernization measures in conjunction with SMS group to enhance product quality control at its seamless tube mill in Paderborn, Germany. The journey began in 2019 with the installation of SMS group’s TBK MEERgauge and TBK SurfTec systems. These autonomous laser section measurement technologies combine high-precision dimensional measurement (TBK MEERgauge) with laser-optical surface inspection (TBK SurfTec) to detect dimensional anomalies and surface defects on long products in real time.
Engineering expertise and strong local service support are core strengths of this partnership. At the Paderborn site, challenging space constraints required the design of a measurement system that could be installed on the existing plant floor without modifications to the current setup. In 2019, SMS custom-designed an autonomous dimensional laser measurement system, TBK MEERgauge, which successfully met this requirement. In addition, SMS implemented an interface to BENTELER’s product database, enabling measurement data to be transferred directly to the company’s dashboard.
"Building on the success of the 2019 installation, the MEERgauge system combined with SurfTec for mandrel measurement was installed in 2024. SMS delivered a special configuration similar to the installation in 2019, resulting in a customized design that precisely matched our plant layout in Paderborn." — Thomas Michels, Chief Operating Officer (COO), BENTELER Steel/Tube
The Paderborn project between 2019 and 2024 delivered clear, measurable benefits: higher product defect detection rates, faster corrective action, and improved product traceability. These tangible improvements resulted from the immediate detection of quality deviations on the product surface under hot-product conditions, along with direct adjustment parameters applied during the rolling process. As a result, product quality increased significantly, establishing a new benchmark at the Paderborn site.
Modernization in Dinslaken and Shreveport
BENTELER also decided to standardize its laser-based light-section measurement technology for product surface inspections across the seamless tube mills in Dinslaken and Shreveport by 2027. Harmonizing the measurement technology streamlines operator onboarding, facilitates cross-site knowledge transfer using measurement data, and helps ensure consistent product quality worldwide.
Dinslaken, Germany: In December 2025, BENTELER ordered the inline TBK CaliView® measuring system designed to check pass settings in the sizing mill by evaluating the contour and position of the passes, both in the mill with the rolls installed and in the stand workshop. The order also included a combined autonomous dimensional laser section measurement and laser-optical surface inspection system including TBK MEERgauge® and TBK SurfTec, scheduled for commissioning in early 2027.
Shreveport, USA: BENTELER placed an order for a TBK MEERgauge® and TBK SurfTec package to replace the existing measuring system, with commissioning planned for April 2027.
The rollout of laser light‑section technology across these seamless tube mills follows a clear principle: dimensional and surface measurement is the enabler, automation is the multiplier, and local after‑sales service secures availability. With the order for Shreveport, BENTELER is expanding its harmonized measurement capability beyond Europe.
Harmonized measurement technology drives quality and efficiency
By harmonizing measurement technology across plants in Europe and the United States, structural challenges such as the shortage of skilled personnel and plant operator turnover can also be addressed. To tackle these challenges, production processes must be simplified for plant operators, and automated solutions should support the monitoring of production steps to improve plant efficiency. Digital evaluation of measurement data helps identify the root causes of production anomalies and simplifies operator tasks. In addition, automated measurement technology replaces conventional operator‑based inspections of the product in its cold state during the final production step.
“We awarded the new contracts for Dinslaken and Shreveport based on our positive experience with the previous project in Paderborn and SMS’s excellent after-sales support. SMS is a supplier that offers combined dimensional and surface mandrel inspection with its proven measuring systems. No other system gave us the opportunity to track individual mandrels and determine when they require repair or replacement. These are needed insights that stabilize inner wall quality.” — Thomas Michels, Chief Operating Officer (COO), BENTELER Steel/Tube
Thanks to the close and productive collaboration with BENTELER, SMS incorporated several lessons learned from the Paderborn projects that can be applied to the mills in Dinslaken and Shreveport.
“The BENTELER plant in Paderborn uses a particular open-source analytics and monitoring solution to visualize production data. This system has been fully adapted to the plant’s requirements. I expect the other plants will pursue a similar solution, in that case we already have the interfaces in place to transfer data into BENTELER’s system” — Ralf Kremer, TBK technology, SMS group
In addition to harmonizing laser‑optical surface control across BENTELER’s sites, tailored mill concepts have been implemented at individual plants. BENTELER is also working with SMS group to install a CaliView® tool shop system at the Dinslaken plant. This will enable precise stretch‑reducing mill (SRM) stand roll alignment and help increase production output, as the CaliView® system allows roll alignment to be carried out in the tool shop.
Shifting measurement and alignment activities into the tool shop stabilizes dimensional product tolerances, reduces setup times, and increases first‑pass yield. Inline surface inspections prevent defective material from progressing through the process, enabling immediate corrective action and minimizing production losses. SMS group is the only supplier offering this combination of systems.
Modernization journey: from measurement to production control
The upgrade of BENTELER’s seamless tube mills in Germany and the United States extends beyond the deployment of laser measurement technology. In early 2026, BENTELER and SMS successfully completed the modernization of the stretch-reducing mill (SRM) in Paderborn. The project focused on replacing the legacy CARTA® automation system with SMS group’s next-generation CARTA®neo SRM technology, including updated crop end control and wall thickness control modules.
CARTA®neo SRM is the latest technological platform for automating the complex stretch-reducing process in seamless tube mills. The system uses real-time measurement data to achieve tighter tolerances, enhance wall thickness accuracy, and improve yield. It provides operators with more consistent production outcomes and supports high throughput at reliable quality levels.
“SMS group delivered a CARTA®neo SRM automation upgrade at BENTELER’s mill in Paderborn to replace aging CARTA hardware and software, integrating advanced crop end control (CEC) and wall thickness control (WTC) within a virtualized environment. The implementation modernized motor control strategies, reduced peak stresses and extreme load cycling. By removing single point dependencies, extending server longevity, and enabling quick in-service updates, CARTA®neo SRM secures long term plant availability and provides a flexible automation platform for continued joint development to increase yield and competitiveness.” — Christian Haferkamp, General Manager Technical Sales & Technology Tube & Pipe Plants
By combining proven surface measurement technology, targeted automation upgrades, and a local after-sales support model, BENTELER and SMS group have created a consistent, data-driven modernization pathway that converts local technical wins into network-wide competitive advantages. This approach reduces operational risk, stabilizes product quality across sites, and establishes a flexible foundation for co-development. CARTA®neo SRM is designed for quick in-service updates, enabling ongoing development.
“Upgrading to CARTA®neo SRM removed single point failures and gave us a robust automation platform for future developments,” notes Thomas Michels, Chief Operating Officer (COO), BENTELER Steel/Tube
With these initiatives, BENTELER and SMS group continue to focus on joint problem-solving using autonomous and digital solutions, supported by local service teams to maintain an achievable modernization roadmap across both Europe and the United States. This creates a coherent basis for consistent quality, higher first-pass yield, and reliable plant availability.
BENTELER’s modernization roadmap across both Europe and the United States, implemented in cooperation with SMS group, was also a key topic at wire & Tube 2026 in Düsseldorf. A panel discussion, held in cooperation with the International Tube Association (ITA) at the SMS group booth, emphasized the importance of modernizing and innovating tube mills.
