USGME investing in new technologies

Headquartered in Dammam and with a sales and distribution network across the region, USG Middle East (USGME) opened the latest factory for steel coil slitting services in Kingdom, known as Saudi-American investment to produce the latest cutting-edge industrial technologies to meet the growing domestic demand for restructured steel for industrial and advanced modern construction in the Kingdom.
USG Middle East (USGME) is a joint venture between USG, a US-headquartered global manufacturer of building materials for the construction and remodeling industries, and a group of Saudi investors with 55 percent shares.
The company has, in the last 35 years, established a proven track record in Saudi Arabia and the GCC for its suspended ceiling systems, installed in commercial and residential projects across the GCC, including King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology and Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University in Saudi Arabia, Dubai International Airport and Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
"The new slitting center, while not a core business, was set up as part of USG's commitment to upgrading and diversifying the group's Middle East capabilities, and serves both the company's internal requirements and also those of customers in the vicinity," says USGME's General Manager Fares Saghbini.
"But rejection (waste) rates were unacceptably high. With steel costs at some $800 per ton at present, that becomes an important factor. And we were unwilling to compromise on quality. Transport costs and times also prompted us to look at alternatives.
"By establishing an internal slitting capability, we are controlling quality and mitigating high costs, to the benefit of both USGME and third-parties," added by Saghbini.