Gulf Construction Online - Business booms for Attieh Steel

Steel

Zameli ... highly optimistic.

Business booms for Attieh Steel

Jeddah-based steel fabricator and stockist Attieh Steel anticipates that high demand will offset any decline in prices.

01 July 2005

Saudi steel major Attieh Group, which has close to five decades of experience behind it, has been reaping the benefits of a buoyant market and continues to gain strength in the region.

The steel market has been booming over the past two years during which prices have been high and demand increasing. This has spelt good news to Attieh, as with all those dealing in the metal, which has supplied to a wide range of projects in the GCC.
There has, however, been a major correction in prices in the global market, and prices of steel will soften shortly in the region, says Attieh Group managing director Mohammad Ali Zameli.
Zameli, however, is unperturbed as he anticipates a further surge in demand regionwide, which should offset the impact of lower prices.
“This drop in prices will not have a negative impact on the steel industry as the demand for steel is very high in the region and continues to rise,” he says. “This softening of prices is good news for the construction sector, which can press ahead with major projects, thus increasing the demand for steel.
“All in all, given the rise in oil prices, the return of funds from overseas, and the real estate boom, the steel industry will continue to witness good growth,” he points out.
The Jeddah-based firm, which started out as a small steel trading and fabrication business, has metamorphosed into a multi-faceted steel conglomerate, which enfolds under its umbrella what is claimed to be the biggest stockist of steel in the region (Attieh Steel), one of the top three structural steel fabricators in Saudi Arabia (Arabian International Company), a steel coil processing factory (Attieh Steel Factory), as well as a steel coil coating company (SIDC Metal Coating) and a building metal components specialist (Saudi Allied Metal Industries).
Attieh Steel: The backbone of all Attieh group companies, Attieh Steel has spread its wings throughout the region and 18 branches. It caters to steel traders and stockists, fabricators and manufacturers in the kingdom, neighbouring GCC countries, Yemen and some parts of East Africa.

Arabian International Company’s
fabrication facilties in Jeddah.

The company is now set to open a new branch in Sudan to service the East African market, according to Zameli.
Attieh Steel has a turnover of some 300,000 tonnes of steel annually, supplied in all shapes sizes and forms, he says.
Attieh Steel Factory: Set up to service the steel market’s requirements for processed coils, the factory handles an annual volume of some 160,000 tonnes of coil.
”Our market positioning gives us an edge – be it through international steel markets or through strategic alliances with local mills such as Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed) and United Gulf Steel,” he adds.
Arabian International Company: As part of the downstream expansion of its activities, the Attieh Group acquired a structural steel fabricating factory in Jeddah, in 1994. The factory was modernised and expanded to enable it to fabricate specialised products.
AIC now has an output of some 35,000 tonnes per year, fabricating major facilities for power stations, desalination plants, cement plants and other industrial facilities, besides structural steel frames for buildings.
Among the landmark building projects it has handled are the Al Faisaliah Centre and the Kingdom Centre (viewing dome and viewing deck, respectively), both in Riyadh, and more recently the Adia Tower in Abu Dhabi (which is due to open at the end of this year) and the newly-completed $1.7 billion Alba Potline 5 expansion programme. Its client list includes Saudi Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Company (Sabic) and Shoaiba power plant.
As one of the leading structural steel fabricators in the region, Arabian International Company provides comprehensive engineering, fabrication and erection services, he says.
SIDC Metal Coating: Set up jointly by Saudi Industrial Development Company (SIDC), Attieh, and Al Nafea Company in 1997, the company supplies some 85,000 tonnes of polyester-coated galvanised steel to the local and GCC market annually
Saudi Allied Metal Industries: A partnership between Attieh group and Saudi Binladin, the factory produces steel and stainless steel products for the construction industry.