Thin-walled welded stainless-steel tubes are used in a wide variety of applications, for example in the chemical industry and for industrial environments with high requirements in regard to hygiene. Such tubes are made starting from hot- or cold-finished sheet by bending and longitudinal welding. In some but not all instances, the finish-welded tubes are annealed and pickled in order to ensure good corrosion resistance (depends on steel grade). Tubes for use in the pharmaceutical or foodstuffs segments must conform to high standards of hygiene while at the same time cleaning must be facilitated. Such applications can demand ground (external and /or internal) or even polished surfaces and removal of the weld bead via cold processing, thereby making the tubes easier to clean.