Expansion Strategies Arabwide and Worldwide

 The experts who participated in the 7th international Iron and Steel Conference which was organized by the Arab Iron and Steel Union in Beirut by the end of September\beginning of October 2004 expect that both steel consumption and production worldwide will continue growing during both 2004 and 2005. It is expected that the world steel production will exceed one billion tons of steel during this year, which is the highest figure achieved in the history of this industry and that the volume of consumption will reach a record figure of 950 million tons. The experts have also expected that China will remain the main drive of this increase either in the production or consumption field.

The participating experts have also talked on considerable increases currently taking place in the field of the steel industry in a number of regions including the Arab countries. There are new projects in most Arab countries. Some Arab companies have also increased their production. The Saudi Hadeed company's production had increased to reach 3.8 million tons in 2003. This production will reach approximately five million tons in 2006. Ezz Industries Group in Egypt has got a production capacity of up to 4.5 million tons in 2004. It is planned for this capacity to come up to 5 million tons in 2005. And there are also many mills which have recently come on stream in a number of the Arab countries. These mills have considerable production capacities, which has caused the Arab region to be considered as one of the main attractive regions for this industry at the world level.

The experts have also concentrated on the lack of special steel manufacturing mills in the Arab countries. There is only one mill in Egypt with a production capacity of 140 thousand tons, while the world consumption of stainless steel is estimated to exceed 19 million tons. This figure will go up to reach 30 million tons in 2010.

The 7th international Iron and Steel Conference has selected a principal theme for it:" Steel Industry: The Road to Continued Growth". In this conference more than 177 participants representing 112 Arab and world companies and organizations have participated. They have come from 27 Arab and foreign countries. 23 working papers have been presented in this conference. They have dealt with principal central points focussing on the status quo of the steel industry and the prospects of its development Arabwide and worldwide. Papers revolving on these central points have been presented by the representatives of the Arab Iron and Steel Union (AISU) and the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in France and Steel Metals Market Research (SMR) in Austria. This session has also included a working paper by Dr. Issam Al-Zaim from Syria under the title:" Globalization of Iron and Steel Industry: Its commercial liberation and world redistribution from an Arab perspective".

The second session has included the vision of both Arab and world companies on the steel industry. Ezz Industries Group in Egypt has talked on its experience in maximizing production processes. The Saudi Iron and Steel Company has talked on strengthening its marketing capacity. LNM Group, which is considered the second largest steel producer in the world with production reaching 44 million tons in 2003, has talked on its strategy of expansion at the world level.

In this session have also talked both the German Badische-Stahl on the successful consulting for the steel industry and Fercometal , France, on the Lebanese economy and the metals trade in Lebanon based on liberalism and free trade.

In its third session the conference has dealt with the new technologies in the steel industry. In this session the major world companies have talked on the latest achievements in the field of the iron and steel technologies. In this field companies from Germany, Austria, Japan and Italy have made presentations.

The issue of the raw materials represented in scrap and coke and the scrap alternatives has been one of the important topics dealt with by this conference. In this session working papers have been presented by the Secretary General of South East Asian Iron and Steel Institute on the demand and supply of the ferrous scrap and the alternative materials for the steel industry in South East Asia. The Egyptian Iron and Steel Company has presented a working paper on the current situation of the international coke market and its impact on the steel industry using coke.

The working papers have also dealt with the imperative and encouraging reasons for expansion in the DRI industry in Iraq and the Algerian experience in using the spirally welded pipes.

The fifth session of the conference has dealt with the iron and steel industry in India and some commercial issues regarding dumping. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry in Egypt have presented a working paper on the dumping issues in the steel industry under the title: "Has dumping come to end at the time of the steel industry booming?".

The last session of the conference, i.e., the sixth session, has been dedicated for a discussion on the topic of the title which has been: " The regional co-operation in the steel industry as envisaged by the regional steel unions in Asia, Africa and the Arab countries. The chairmen and secretaries general of the unions have participated in this session and addressed their points of view on strengthening the regional co-operation among these unions in the light of the developments being witnessed in the steel markets in a number of these regions. On this topic the Secretary General of the Arab Iron and Steel Union who presented a working paper on the current situation of the Arab steel industry, the Secretary General of South East Asia Iron and Steel institute, the Chairman of the Asian Steel Union and other participants have also talked.

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