Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed) has embarked upon ambitious expansion plans that will boost production capacity of both its long and flat production facilities by early 2006.
“The existing production facilities are currently running to peak performance, and in order to meet the market demands, an increase in production capacity is required,” says public relations manager Hisham Al Johar.
As part of its expansion programme, Hadeed has signed two contracts – one with Italian Danieli Company and the Saudi Dywidag Saudi Arabia Company for the expansion of its long-product facility; and the other with Austrian Voest Alpine Company for the expansion of its existing flat product complex – this May and July, respectively.
The contract for the expansion of Hadeed’s long-product facility will involve the installation of a new rolling mill for producing straight rebar (sizes from 8 to 40 mm), rebar in coils (from 6 to 16 mm) and wire rod coils (from 5.5 to 16 mm) with an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes.
The contract for the expansion of Hadeed’s flat-product complex, which will include a second reheating furnace, a sixth finishing stand, a second downcoiler and skin pass mill automation, will serve to double its capacity to two million tonnes of flat steel products.
The expansion comes on the heels of a successful year with this year being even better.
Hadeed’s long-product facility produces reinforcing bars (for reinforced concrete construction), wire rods (for welded mesh, nails, screws, barbed wire and fence mesh industries) and light sections (for structures, trailers and mobile homes). It comprises a direct reduction plant, which converts iron ore into sponge iron, and comprises three Midrex modules with a combined capacity in excess of two million tonnes per year (tpy) of sponge iron.
The steel plant converts sponge iron and ferrous scrap into steel billets and has three electric arc furnaces, ladle transfer cars, two ladle furnaces and three six-strand continuous billet casting machines which convert the liquid steel into 130 mm and 100 mm billets with an annual capacity of approximately 2.7 million tonnes.
The rolling mills, which have a capacity of 2.8 million tpy, convert 130 mm billets into finished products. The rolling mills produce deformed and plain reinforcing bars in sizes 12 to 40 mm; coils of wire rod and rebar in coils; and light sections such as channels, equal angles, flats and squares.
Flat-product facilities
The flat-product complex, inaugurated in October 2002, comprises a direct reduction plant, a steel plant and flat steel product facilities.
With an annual capacity of more than 1 million tonnes of sponge iron, the state-of-the-art direct reduction plant is based on the HYL3 process. Sponge (directly reduced) iron produced in this plant is the main feed material for the electric arc furnace in the steel plant. The steel plant produces more than one million tonnes (in 2002) of steel slabs compared with a designed annual capacity of 850,000 tonnes.
Hadeed produces high-quality flat products to international specifications in accordance with customers’ requirements. Closer dimensional tolerances, narrow range chemistry and special steel can be produced as per requirements.
Hadeed’s flat steel finished product facilities include a hot strip mill, a hot coil slitting and recoiling line, a hot coil cut-to-length line, a pickling line, a cold rolling mill, a batch annealing plant, a temper mill, a cold coil slitting and recoiling line and a hot-dip galvanising line. The flat products facilities contribute to the diversification of Hadeed’s iron and steel products in Saudi Arabia. Their products provide raw materials for many industries including spare parts, pipes, tanks, containers, trailers, steel structures, air-conditioning ducts and other industries that depend on the hot and cold rolled steel and galvanised flat steel products.
Established in 1979 in Saudi Arabia, Hadeed – the first fully integrated steel producer in Saudi Arabia, wholly-owned by the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) – started producing rebars and wire rods in 1983, in Jubail Industrial City. Today, the company manufactures a range of long and flat steel products, supported by a 2,900-strong workforce.
The company, which will be present at stand 4B161 at this year’s Big 5 show, will promote a range of finished products that include long steel products such as: reinforcing bars, wire rod and light sections; and hot and cold rolled and galvanised flat steel products.
“We have been participating in the Big 5 show for many years. The event is a successful one and the response to our stand has been very good over the past,” says Johar.
