EMIRATES Steel now manufactures 40-mm reinforcing steel bars (rebar), following an enhancement of its facilities at the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi in the UAE. With this size, the steel major fills a gap in the market, which was previously met through imports mainly from Turkey.

The only integrated steel plant in the UAE, Emirates Steel continues to meet the growing demand for steel in the region and beyond, utilising the latest rolling mill technology to produce rebar, wire rod and heavy sections.

The plant’s product range includes rebar and rebar in coil, wire rod, hot-rolled structural steel sections, which include beams, columns, channels, angles and sheet piles; direct reduced iron and steel billets. With the addition of the 40-mm size, the rebar range is now complete.

“We are happy to announce that we have added a new 40-mm size to our existing range of 8-mm to 32-mm rebar,” says Saeed Al Romaithi, CEO of Emirates Steel. “We want to make sure that we provide the market with its requirements of steel rebar in all sizes to cover the needs of our customers and to bridge the gap in the market.”

According to the statistics released by Emirates Steel, consumption of rebar in the UAE in 2012 reached 160,000 tonnes per month. Of that, consumption of 40-mm rebar – used mainly in the construction of huge building towers, sizable manufacturing units and bridges – stood at around two per cent. These figures are expected to remain unchanged in 2013. Al Romaithi expects Emirates Steel to grab the largest share in the 40-mm bracket of the rebar market against Turkish domination.

To start the production of the new-size rebar, certain technical modifications had to be made to the rebar plant.
Emirates Steel is regarded as a producer of top quality rebar due to the sourcing of premium quality iron ore used in the manufacturing process and the implementation of internal quality control procedures. The company is owned by Senaat, the UAE’s largest industrial conglomerate and a driving force for implementing the Abu Dhabi government’s industrial diversification policy.

Established in 1998, Emirates Steel grew in a relatively short period of time from a simple re-roller of imported steel billets to a complex integrated manufacturing plant, using modern solutions to tackle traditional industrial problems to generate value for its various stakeholders. In 2012, the company began producing at a capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year, following two expansions and the investment of Dh10 billion ($2.72 billion).

Emirates Steel is certified to manufacture Grade B500B rebar and coil, in addition to Grade 460B.