Building on the steady growth in business levels over the past few years, Dammam-based Zamil Steel is currently on an expansion drive that will see an even more diversified product portfolio as well as an international network of manufacturing facilities that will help grow its geographical footprint even further.

Zamil Steel, which is one of the largest manufacturers of pre-engineering buildings (PEBs) in the world, officially inaugurated its second factory in Vietnam, at the Amata Industrial Park near Ho Chi Minh City in southern Dong Nai province in April this year. This follows expansion of its manufacturing network in the Gulf region to include a PEB factory in the UAE and a sandwich panel line the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
The new Vietnam factory boasts a production capacity of 4,500 tonnes a month of PEBs and other steel products and has involved a total estimated investment of SR75 million ($20 million). This factory will increase the total production of Zamil Steel Vietnam (ZSV) from 50,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes of steel buildings annually.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the new factory, Zamil Steel president Adnan Al Mansour, said: “The demand for high-quality pre-engineered steel buildings is growing rapidly, and Zamil Steel Vietnam, as the leading international manufacturer of PEB, has become a major part of our strategy to get closer to our customers. This new plant was carefully and strategically positioned for that purpose – to aid ZSV in meeting its demands within the shortest possible delivery period. This vital addition to our international network of manufacturing facilities will prove invaluable as we continue to find new and innovative ways and introduce new products to serve our customers with the same high level of quality and dependability they have come to expect from us.”
“As part of our expansion strategy, we have set up a factory in Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE in April last year to increase our PEB manufacturing capacity in the Gulf region. A new sandwich panel line has also been established in the Second Industrial City in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which has recently started production. We have also invested in India with a PEB factory in Pune in Maharashtra that started production in December last year,” says Hatem Turki, marketing manager of Zamil Steel.
“We are always appraising opportunities for entering into new markets through a direct presence or through certified builders and agents and are currently studying the potential for setting up manufacturing facilities for other areas,” he adds.
Innovation is also another area that Zamil Steel focuses on to ensure that it keeps abreast with market demands. In line with this approach, the company introduced a number of new products over the course of last year which include curved roof buildings with built-up rafters, large-span 100-m-plus trusses, perforated panels and new colours for its panels.
Founded in 1977, Zamil Steel is a global leader in the manufacture of PEBs and the Middle East’s premier supplier of structural steel products and process equipment, transmission and telecommunications towers. It operates a joint venture between Zamil Industrial Investment Company and Steel Plus, a subsidiary of Canadian Canam Group, to design and fabricate open web steel joists and floor decks.
The company manufactures a total 370,000 tonnes of fabricated steel per annum of low-rise and high-rise steel buildings and structures for diverse industrial, commercial, agriculture, aviation, entertainment and military applications and support of infrastructure and development projects. Zamil Steel’s products are sold in more than 82 countries through an international network of dedicated sales and representative offices, certified builders, agents and distributors. Its main factories are based in Dammam with additional factories located in Egypt, Vietnam, the UAE and India. More than 600 engineers are employed in its engineering departments in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Vietnam and India.
“Zamil Steel has recorded its best-ever physical and financial performance last year through its continued emphasis on higher production. Our consolidated production last year reached 500,000 tonnes, which was an increase of 19 per cent over 2006. Our exports increased by 20 per cent over last year. Our determined philosophy to support our customers before and after sales is the basis on which we run our organisation,” points out Turki.
Zamil Steel is the flagship of the four sector businesses of Zamil Industrial Investment Company, a publicly traded stock company in Saudi Arabia, while the other three business sectors are Zamil Air Conditioners, Zamil Glass Industries and Arabian Fiberglass Insulation Company (Afico).
“As an industry leader, Zamil Steel excels in engineering, manufacturing, sales and project management and offers clients a diverse range of products from which to compile a total building solution. The company utilises state-of-the-art engineering and manufacturing software and machinery in the design, estimating, shop detailing and manufacturing of each of its products.
“We are committed to service at the local level as is evidenced by a network of 56 area offices located in 50 countries, which are fully staffed and equipped to provide quick, comprehensive responses to customer inquiries, as well as extensive after-sales service. The staff is remarkably equipped to provide clients with detailed quotations and proposal drawings in response to building inquiries, as well as on-site support for ongoing projects. Zamil Steel also engages the services of a wide network of certified builders around the globe,” says a spokesperson for Zamil Steel.

Business divisions
Zamil Steel comprises of the following four ISO 9001-certified business divisions:
• Pre-Engineered Building (PEB) Division, the flagship operation of Zamil Steel, as well as its oldest and the largest business unit. The main factory in Dammam produces 9,500 tonnes of PEBs each month and is considered the largest single PEB factory in the world, according to the spokesman. Since its inception, Zamil Steel has designed, manufactured and supplied more than 40,000 pre-engineered buildings to clients in more than 82 countries worldwide. PEBs are commonly used as factories, warehouses, showrooms, distribution centres, sport centres, supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores, cold stores, swimming pool enclosures, recreational facilities, wedding halls, office buildings, multipurpose halls, aircraft hangars, gas stations, car-park shades and restaurants.
“They are well suited for any building that requires a sturdy and versatile one, two or three-storey structure,” he says.
• The Structural Steel Division (SSD), established in 1984, is currently acknowledged as a leader in steel fabrication in Saudi Arabia and the surrounding area. “With a vision for the future industrial development of the region as well as a commitment to local industrialisation, Zamil Steel has allocated the needed resources to acquire the latest technology for use in the fabrication of structural steel and process equipment,” the spokesman points out.
• Towers and Galvanizing Division (T&G) which began operations in 1985 and currently provides design, fabrication and galvanising of transmission line towers, telecommunication towers, substation structures and other types of galvanised lattice steel structures; and
• Canam Asia Limited, which provides open web steel joists and floor decking solutions. This division was founded in 2002 and is located in Dammam First Industrial City.

Project portfolio
Zamil Steel is currently engaged on a number of interesting projects, which include hypermarkets at the Mall of Arabia in Jeddah, Hofuf Mall, Yarmouk Mall in Riyadh and the new extension of Mall of Dhahran. It is also involved with the Rabigh refining and petrochemical factory, Sabic (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) storage building in Jubail, school buildings in Riyadh and the Universal Cold Stores in Riyadh.
The company has also recently completed several striking projects such as the Flamingo Mall in Riyadh, a shopping mall at Jarir Plaza in Al Khobar, the hypermarket at Oneiza Mall in Al Qassim, Al Abiniah Factory in Dammam, Future Ceramics Factory in Dammam, Hadeed’s Logistic Improvement Factory in Jubail, the Toshiba warehouse in Jeddah and the Al Zayed Conference Hall in Tabuk, among others.