The Kingdom’s liberalized investor friendly policies have given an impetus to the manufacture of various types of steel for the construction industry. Some of the leading manufacturing and engineering industries produce steel billets, flat, hot and cold rolled steel, epoxy coated steel, wire mesh to meet the increasing needs of the Saudi market.
“The Middle East is home to one of the most vibrant and fastest growing steel industries in the world,” according to Metal Bulletin Research. At 12.9 million tons in 2003, steel production in the Middle East is modest for an emerging market, but enjoying healthy growth. The region’s steel output is up 10.5 percent for the year to date, and production of 14.5 million tons is forecast to year-end.
“The phenomenal success of the steel industry in Saudi Arabia was the result of blessings of Almighty Allah and investor friendly policies of the government,” the Director of the Al-Tuwairqi Group (ATG), Yousef Al- Tuwairqi, told Arab News, adding that the current upsurge in the economic activity in the Kingdom in general and the boom in the construction sector in particular provide new avenues for further investment especially in the steel sector.
“The Kingdom provides an excellent environment to entrepreneurs to flourish and add value to the community at large,” Al-Tuwairqi stressed.
Citing the recent achievements in the local steel industry, Al-Tuwairqi pointed out that just 65 days after the commencing production, on Sept. 14, 2004, National Steel & Iron Factory (NSIF), a new venture of ATG, achieved 26 heats per day. “This is a record achievement by the industry standard, given the timescale, where 29 heats per day is considered best performance,” said Al-Tuwairqi. The average daily production of the plant is 1,400 tons of steel billets.
With a total production of over 1.3 million tons of steel products, Al-Tuwairqi Group is one of the leading industrial groups in the Kingdom. It is also one of the largest privately owned steel manufacturers in the entire GCC region. From a modest beginning as a trading establishment 25 years ago, the group has grown to the distinction of being ranked among the 10 largest industrial companies and overall top 50 companies of the Kingdom, in terms of total revenue for the year 2003. The group is also one of the fastest growing private sector establishments and ranked only 3rd on the basis of year-on-year revenue growth for the year 2003.
The business strategy of ATG is geared toward maintaining high product quality, enhancing productivity, offering competitive prices and speeding up delivery time. “We have opened warehouses in various locations in the Kingdom to serve customers better,” Khalid Al-Tuwairqi, director of marketing, said. Value added products such as epoxy coated steel, wire mesh, cut and bend as per customer specifications are available through Faisal Steel Products Factory (FSPF). The group is constantly striving to enhance value addition and harness operational efficiencies. It completed successful implementation of SAP, Enterprise Resource Planning. The initiatives taken by the group to expand the manufacturing capacity is in line with the Kingdom’s strategy of diversifying its economy into non-oil industries and promoting private sector investments.
The group is in the process of expansion and recently signed an agreement for another steel plant. The ATG is constantly striving to bring in new technology and modern ideas so that it can contribute to the economic development of the Kingdom.
The companies under Al-Tuwairqi Group include Al-Ittefaq Steel Products Factory, National Iron and Steel Factory, Al-Faisal Steel Products Factory, Thames Steel (United Kingdom), and the International Electrical Products Company (TIEPCO). Other business divisions of the group include trading & contracting, cement, industrial supply, scientific & medical equipment and information technology services.
