Sweden’s Alleima (formerly Sandvik Materials Technology) has inaugurated its refurbished SEK330m ($34.97m) Tube Mill 2026 production facility in Sandviken, Sweden. The strategically upgraded and reopened facility expands the company’s total production capacity for steam generator tubes by approximately 60%. The expansion directly answers a global surge in nuclear energy interest.
Tube Mill 2026 is a refurbishment a facility that operated from the 1960s until 2011 as Tube Mill 68, serving as the foundation for Alleima’s steam generator tubing expertise. The facility was mothballed in 2012 when Alleima opened a separate, newer factory in Sandviken. However, recognising a surge in global nuclear and SMR demand, Alleima used the SEK330m investment to completely upgrade, modernise, and reopen the idle facility under its new name, Tube Mill 2026. Reusing the existing building structure allowed Alleima to bring the massive 60% capacity increase online much faster than building a new factory.
The facility specialises in high-technology tubular products critical for conventional NPPs, small modular reactors (SMRs) and tech sector infrastructure, satisfying the power demands of data centres. The reopening scales up regional employment by adding some 100 new employees to Alleima’s existing 300-strong nuclear workforce. Prominent nuclear industry companies including Doosan Enerbility, NuScale Power, Rolls-Royce SMR, and Westinghouse attended the opening event, confirming Alleima’s status as a core supply chain partner. The company reports a solid order base extending well into the future, including a recently logged order valued at SEK530m.
Alleima has been part of the nuclear energy supply chain for more than 60 years. As well as steam generator tubes it supplies nuclear fuel cladding tubes and other nuclear-grade components. Since 1964 it has supplied tube bundles to more than 400 steam generators in more than 20 countries, and more than 60,000,000 metres of nuclear fuel tubes to more than 100 reactors. Alleima, had approximately 6,800 employees and revenues of about in about 80 countries in 2025.
“The opening of Tube Mill 2026 marks an important milestone for Alleima, said CEO Göran Björkman. “By upgrading and reopening our tube mill, we strengthen our ability to meet the growing demand within the nuclear segment, both for conventional nuclear power plants and for small modular reactors. This is a central part of our strategy and demonstrates that we are a leading supplier of high-technology products based on quality, reliability, and long-standing industry experience.”
Carl von Schantz, President of the Tube Division at Alleima, noted: “Today, we have customers from all over the world here in Sandviken. This demonstrates that we have established ourselves as a reliable, stable, and long-term partner, manufacturing world-leading products for extremely demanding environments. Strong and close collaboration with our customers is essential for us, and we are therefore very pleased to celebrate this together.”
