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Orrcon Steel Increases Production Thanks to the Fully Automated OTO Tube Mill From Fives
02/24/2026 - Australian tube manufacturer and part of BlueScope, Orrcon Steel, has increased production of structural tubes for construction and infrastructure applications at its Unanderra facility with the fully automated OTO tube mill from Fives.
The companies said the line can produce large structural hollow sections with a diameter up to 10 inches, wall thicknesses up to 10 mm and production speeds up to 80 m per minute. It features a new loading carriage, shear welder, cutoff and robotic packaging system.
“We have preloaded recipes in the automation systems that tell the robots what to do and the size of the tubes. They automatically pick and place the tubes according to the preconfigured bundle arrangement. They are well liked and widely regarded as impressive, high-performing machines,” said Harlan Peters, maintenance manager at Orrcon Steel.
The tube manufacturing process has the modular digital platform OTO-i. It allows for advanced automation of the robotic packaging system which features three robotic arms that automatically pick up and arrange tubes into various shapes for bundling, warehousing and dispatch.
“Some of our other facilities have older bundling equipment that requires a couple of people to operate. Here, however, the robots generally work with minimal intervention from operational personnel,” said Brendan McNally, national manufacturing manager — structural tube at Orrcon Steel.
“We have preloaded recipes in the automation systems that tell the robots what to do and the size of the tubes. They automatically pick and place the tubes according to the preconfigured bundle arrangement. They are well liked and widely regarded as impressive, high-performing machines,” said Harlan Peters, maintenance manager at Orrcon Steel.
The tube manufacturing process has the modular digital platform OTO-i. It allows for advanced automation of the robotic packaging system which features three robotic arms that automatically pick up and arrange tubes into various shapes for bundling, warehousing and dispatch.
“Some of our other facilities have older bundling equipment that requires a couple of people to operate. Here, however, the robots generally work with minimal intervention from operational personnel,” said Brendan McNally, national manufacturing manager — structural tube at Orrcon Steel.
