Dubai, UAE, March 20, 2016:  Conares, the second largest private steel manufacturer in the UAE, has commenced installation of its 12’’ pipe mill at its facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone. This is part of Conares enhancing its annual production to 1 million tonnes. 

HE Abdullah Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy; and HE Ibrahim Mohamed Al Janahi, Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer of Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) were the Chief Guests at the special event. Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan also attended the event. 

Conares is the region’s leading provider of downstream steel products and recently celebrated its 25th year of operation in the market. The state-of-the-art steel plants of Conares, spread in an area of over 1.5 million sq.ft. in Jafza, currently manufactures steel pipes and rebars. The rebars currently represent about 20 per cent the UAE market share and the pipes cater to 25 per cent of the total market demand in the region.

Commenting on the installation of the enhanced pipe mill, Mr. Bharat Bhatia, CEO of Conares, said, “We are enhancing our pipe manufacturing facilities and the new size range of the product will be from 4” to 12”. We planned to increase the size of our pipe range a couple of years ago in order to meet the growing demand from the region’s infrastructure development sector. Keeping the vision of the UAE and Dubai 2021, we expect multiplying our revenues to exceed AED 2 billion mark. In terms of facility growth, we are aligning Conares with the region’s commitment to infrastructure developments. The Vision 2021 for Conares is crucial to make it a manufacturing powerhouse.” 

“We strongly believe in the vision of the leadership of this nation, and are motivated by the continuous evolution to live in such world-class cities. The expanded facility will be ready for operations in the last quarter of the current year. We are also planning other investments for the company. We foresee a good demand for our products for the ongoing projects in the UAE, especially the projects related to infrastructure development to host the World Expo 2020 in Dubai and the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar,” he added. 

“Conares has been growing to deliver 1 million tons of steel annually. Being a 100 per cent privately owned entity, our assets exceed US$300 million of investments in the UAE. With the support from federal and local government agencies, our products have not only gained market wide acceptance but also are preferred choice of many prestigious projects today,” Mr. Bhatia reiterated. 

Talking about the total volume of the steel industry in the UAE, he said, “The increased steel demand for steel in the UAE will surface from 2016, having an additional growth of 10 per cent on a yearly basis from the year 2017. From the steel industry standpoint, local manufacturers will be in a strong position to cater to each of the upcoming projects. Aside from this, we witness a lot of job opportunities since the beginning of the current year.”   

Conares has been manufacturing 500,000 metric tonnes of steel rebars, and 250,000 metric tonnes of steel pipes annually; and now achieved the milestone of 1 million metric tonnes manufacturing capacity with additional production of 250,000 metric tonnes as per the expansions at its plant. With commencing the installation of its 12” pipe mill, Conares is a step closer to produce 1 million tonnes of steel annually. 

The company’s current market reach for steel rebars is at 85 per cent in the UAE; 15 per cent in the Middle East region; while it is 65 per cent in the UAE, 20 per cent in the region and 15 per cent in the part of the world for steel pipes. 

“Strategically, we have aimed to have a wider market presence based on the product which is why we have a certain percentage of exports outside the region. For pipes, being a global product for us, our export stands at 40 per cent. Rebars, being a regional product, 75 per cent of our production is allotted to the local market and remaining is spread within GCC,” Mr. Bhatia said. 

Conares has constantly been evolving with the region. The company’s growth has remained on a buoyant trajectory over the last 25 years of its operations, helping it cross significant growth milestones in the steel industry. Today Conares is the second-largest manufacturer of steel pipes and rebars, the only private manufacturer in the UAE and is among the three major steel rebar mills continuously operating in the country.