Changing economy draws no worries at Tenaris birthday bash

U.S. tariffs and a shifting global economy have left numerous industries bracing for change – but at Tenaris, the change all looks to be positive.

The company has hired 600 employees in Sault Ste. Marie over the past three years, ballooning the local workforce to 800 after investing over $255 million in its local operations since 2020.

On Friday, the steel pipe manufacturer celebrated its 25th anniversary in the city, and executives painted an optimistic picture of the years to come during a press conference this morning.

“We supply the lion’s share of pipes for the oil and gas industry in Canada, and we hope that Canada can be a powerhouse on energy exports and with Tenaris playing a very important role,” said Martin Castro, president of Tenaris in Canada.

While some industries have been sent reeling by punishing U.S. tariffs, Castro said there’s no fear of downsizing or layoffs in the near future.

“We have a lot less exposure to the U.S. market as Algoma does, and that’s why we are not seeing any adjustments in activity in our facility moving forward,” he said.

“We have invested a lot post-Covid in different projects and also to bring almost 600 new employees to our facility here in Sault Ste. Marie … so for the time being and for the foreseeable future we’re not considering any layoffs here in the Sault.”

Whether through increased interest in liquefied natural gas development, or rumblings about the Keystone XL pipeline project being restarted, Tenaris sees a variety of opportunities right here in Canada in the coming years.

Tenaris is the only producer of seamless pipes for oil and gas in the country.

“I think the LNG projects are critical for us. I mean, they demand a lot of seamless pipes, which we are the only producer of seamless pipes in Canada,” Castro said.

“We’re seeing more and more interest from our Canadian customers to increase drilling activity to fulfill these LNG projects.”

The changing global economy was touched on by not only Castro, but CEO Paolo Rocca and local politicians alike.

“The world is changing, and we think that this is also important to understand for us as a company, but also for the government and the authorities all around the world,” Rocco said.

He said industry, government, and community will need to work hand in hand in the years ahead.

“The world that started, beginning in the 90s with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the change in the equilibrium is getting to a limit. Things will not be the same from now on.”

That said, with the multinational company selling $12.5 billion USD annually, it has not had to rely on any government assistance to date.

“We’re able to self maintain, and we’re not receiving any type of support from the government,” Castro said.

But investments in local industries, like renewed interest in domestic projects or the $500 million loan recently inked for Algoma Steel, will help Tenaris over the long term.

“The support that we’re seeing from the government and the actions they are taking to protect the domestic industry, the steel industry in particular, on developing more and more projects on the energy side, those are the right measures that are helping companies like Tenaris.”

It’s a vision that was shared by Sault Ste. Marie–Algoma MP Terry Sheehan, who said his government is committed to making Canada a “superpower” in energy. 

“Prime Minister (Mark) Carney has said that Canada will be a superpower related to energy,” Sheehan said.

“What does that mean? More jobs for Sault Ste. Marie, more jobs for Canada.”