Emirates Steel has rolled out the first beams signifying the start of hot commissioning of the first Heavy Section Mill in the region, built at a cost of about $650 million.

The beams roll out followed a series of hot trials that gave positive results, the company said. Emitrates Steel can now produce large-size sections, beams, columns and sheet piles, the company said in a statement.

“This is the latest achievement in the completion of the expansion programme at our integrated complex in Musaffah,” said Suhail Al Ameri, chairman of Emirates Steel. “In support of Abu Dhabi’s economic Vision 2030, our expansion programme has been designed to give Emirates Steel a competitive advantage over its international competitors by giving it better access to local energy resources and utilising state-of-the-art technologies. Now that Phase 2B is complete, we will be the only producer of jumbo and heavy sections in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and will be able to offer drastically-reduced lead times and an improved product offering in terms of piece count and cut-to-length services,” Al Ameri added.

The company had launched in January 2006 a two-phased expansion programme worth $2.45 billion. Phase 1 was completed in June 2009, Phase 2A in March 2011 and Phase 2B in December 2011. The new Heavy Section Mill will be integrated with the second 1.4 million tonnes per year (tpy) Steel Meltshop and the associated Direct Reduction Plant (DRP) already started successfully in autumn 2010.

Emirates Steel’s Phase 2A, which consists of a 1.6 million tpy DRP and a 1.4 million tpy Steel Making Plant (SMP), has significantly increased the company’s DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) capacity to 3.2 million tpy and steelmaking capacity to 2.8 million tpy. This has elevated Emirates Steel into one of the largest DRI producers in the Middle East region.

Phase 2 DRP and SMP, which are twin plants of Phase 1 assets, were commissioned on schedule in March 2011, thereby significantly reducing the associated technology and construction risks and providing significant synergies to the company in terms of the learning curve. Cold commissioning of both plants had commenced in October 2010. According to Al Ameri, Emirates Steel’s focused and fast-paced approach to growth has allowed the company to edge ahead of schedule in its expansion plan, bringing the company increasingly closer to realising its final objectives.

A Danieli construction
Constructed by Italy’s Danieli, the Emirates Steel Heavy Section Mill will produce parallel-flange beams, columns and bearing piles with up to 1,016 mm web depth and 419 flange width, up to 430 mm parallel flange channels, 250 mm angles, 750 mm U-sheet piles and 630 mm Z-sheet piles using 350 x 220 mm conticast blooms and up to 1050 x 460 x 120 mm beam blanks as starting material.

“Both the expansion plan and overall growth strategy of Emirates Steel are in line with the Government’s long-term plans for the development and diversification of the emirate’s economy. The expansion is also part of the overall backward integration plan, which will ensure a competitive market position for Emirates Steel,” said Al Ameri. The plant’s new facilities together with its planned further expansions will see Emirates Steel increase its production to around 6.5 million tpy within the next four years.

More than 30 per cent of the project team members, who worked on the two-phased expansion, were UAE engineers and technicians. Al Ameri said “Emiratisation is one of our highest priorities and we remain dedicated to contributing to this important government initiative”. Now that Phase 2B is complete, an estimated 2,000 more jobs will be created in the country either through downstream operations or by suppliers.

“At Emirates Steel, we have our reasons for being optimistic about our expansion projects,” asserted engineer Saeed Al Romaithi, Emirates Steel’s acting CEO. Besides construction, other factors are contributing to the growth of the steel industry in the country. These include cheap and reliable gas and energy supply, growing investment in the oil and gas and petrochemical sectors, industrial growth and rising income level.

This does not mean that demand for steel has not contracted on account of the global economic crisis and the turmoil in the region; a number of projects have been placed on hold or cancelled, but construction projects, mainly in Abu Dhabi, are currently the key driving force behind the steel industry growth. “This trend and other government initiatives will play a positive role in promoting reforms and increasing competitiveness of our steel industry in the coming years,” Al Romaithi pointed out.

Heavy sections demand high
Demand for heavy sections in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is expected to double by 2015, according to press reports. “Once up and running, our Heavy Section Rolling Mill will establish the company as the leading manufacturer and supplier of structural steel in the Middle East region and a centre of excellence for the effective use of metal in construction,” Al Romaithi pointed out. “By offering a wide range of structural products, the mill will be able to meet its customers’ differing structural steel needs and maximise their design effectiveness. We have made a significant investment in structural steel manufacturing technology, which will put our heavy sections mill amongst the most advanced in the world,” he added.

“Our structural steel will be essential to the local and regional markets. The growing number of projects in the GCC working on the development of infrastructure, industrial plants, power transmission towers, bridges, sea ports and high rise towers all require the new products we will be able to supply,” engineer Ahmed Al Dhaheri, VP of projects, pointed out.

These construction projects will demand a large tonnage of heavy sections, Al Dhaheri asserted. According to Steel Business Briefing, demand for medium and heavy sections in the Middle East is forecast to reach 4.3 million tonnes in 2012, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE being the biggest consumers. Demand is currently met by imports mainly from China, Korea and Eastern Europe. The GCC’s total steel demand is 20 million tonnes per year, compared to a capacity of 12 million tonnes per year.

Emirates Steel is a direct subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (Adbic) which is, in turn, wholly-owned by the General Holding Company (GHC). Strategically located in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD), some 35 km away from the heart of the city of Abu Dhabi, Emirates Steel is the only integrated steel plant in the UAE utilising the latest rolling mill technology to produce reinforcing bar and wire rod.