18 September 2013
HEADQUARTERED in Dammam, and with a sales and distribution network across the region, USG Middle East (USGME) inaugurated recently 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 Saudi Arabia.
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 Centre, 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 but also those of customers in the vicinity," said Fares Saghbini, USGME's General Manager.
"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," Saghbini added.
In June 2012, USGME took the strategic decision to diversify its portfolio of services, establishing a Steel Coil Slitting Centre at its base in Dammam Second Industrial City. One year on, it is providing high specification slitting services to a growing customer base across the Eastern Province.
Maan Zeaiter, Plant Manager at USGME's Dammam factory, said the slitter equipment has the capacity to process approximately 100,000 tons of steel coil every year.
"Because we use the machine for our own internal purposes, customers can be confident in the consistent quality of our slitting service," he said.
"The slitter can cut down trimming waste to 3mm on each side on a 1,000 mm wide coil - improving on the minimum achievable width of 5mm on either side of our competitors in Saudi Arabia," he added.
Saghbini said the slitter service reflects USGME's philosophy of finding long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes. Today, USGME's Slitting Centre is a profit center in its own right, and complements our core business well."
According to a plan, the production capacity will reach 100,000 tons per year by 2015 meeting the increasing demand of steel in Saudi market.
The Slitting Centre can, said Zeaiter, also store up to 20,000 metric tons of master coils on behalf of third-parties in the area, adding further value for customers.
USGME's slitting service is the latest in a line of projects and services introduced by the ambitious company.
Saghbini further said plans are afoot to set up a gypsum board manufacturing facility in Oman using locally quarried raw material, while in Saudi Arabia USGME is gearing up for a major project at Saudi Aramco, which is planning a major energy efficient housing construction program.
"In 2012 USG entered into a partnership with General Electric (GE) Lighting to manufacture a new integrated ceiling and lighting system which uses just 20 percent of the energy as a conventional system," he said. "As an approved vendor to Saudi Aramco, we look forward to reinforcing our links with them," he noted.
HEADQUARTERED in Dammam, and with a sales and distribution network across the region, USG Middle East (USGME) inaugurated recently 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 Saudi Arabia.
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 Centre, 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 but also those of customers in the vicinity," said Fares Saghbini, USGME's General Manager.
"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," Saghbini added.
In June 2012, USGME took the strategic decision to diversify its portfolio of services, establishing a Steel Coil Slitting Centre at its base in Dammam Second Industrial City. One year on, it is providing high specification slitting services to a growing customer base across the Eastern Province.
Maan Zeaiter, Plant Manager at USGME's Dammam factory, said the slitter equipment has the capacity to process approximately 100,000 tons of steel coil every year.
"Because we use the machine for our own internal purposes, customers can be confident in the consistent quality of our slitting service," he said.
"The slitter can cut down trimming waste to 3mm on each side on a 1,000 mm wide coil - improving on the minimum achievable width of 5mm on either side of our competitors in Saudi Arabia," he added.
Saghbini said the slitter service reflects USGME's philosophy of finding long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes. Today, USGME's Slitting Centre is a profit center in its own right, and complements our core business well."
According to a plan, the production capacity will reach 100,000 tons per year by 2015 meeting the increasing demand of steel in Saudi market.
The Slitting Centre can, said Zeaiter, also store up to 20,000 metric tons of master coils on behalf of third-parties in the area, adding further value for customers.
USGME's slitting service is the latest in a line of projects and services introduced by the ambitious company.
Saghbini further said plans are afoot to set up a gypsum board manufacturing facility in Oman using locally quarried raw material, while in Saudi Arabia USGME is gearing up for a major project at Saudi Aramco, which is planning a major energy efficient housing construction program.
"In 2012 USG entered into a partnership with General Electric (GE) Lighting to manufacture a new integrated ceiling and lighting system which uses just 20 percent of the energy as a conventional system," he said. "As an approved vendor to Saudi Aramco, we look forward to reinforcing our links with them," he noted.
© The Saudi Gazette 2013
