SABIC awards contract for hot strip enhancement to Voest Alpine Industrieanlagenbau
Posted: 4 August 2004
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has awarded a large-scale contract for the expansion of its hot-rolling steel mill to Voest Alpine Industrieanlagenbau. The expansion will take place at the Saudi Iron and Steel Company (HADEED) - SABIC’s wholly-owned metals affiliate – based at Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia and will double SABIC’s flat steel production capacity from one million to two million mt/y. Completion is scheduled for the start of 2006.
The turnkey contract includes slab yard and coil yard expansion; a second reheating furnace; a sixth finishing stand; a second downcoiler; and skin pass mill automation system.
The expansion will cement SABIC’s position as the leading metals producer in the Middle East. Commenting on the announcement, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Al-Mady said: “This prestigious project is part of our plans to expand our operations and increase production capacity to meet the rapidly increasing domestic and global demand for our products”.
HADEED started production in 1983 with an initial annual production capacity of 800,000 metric tons. Since its formation, annual production capacity has increased, reaching 3,900,000 metric tons of finished products in 2003.
The Middle East’s largest petrochemicals company, SABIC, is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It was founded in 1976, when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use hydrocarbon gases released in the production of oil as raw material for the production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70% of SABIC shares, with the remaining 30% held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
SABIC’s business activities have been restructured and a new management model became effective on 1 September 2002. There are now six Strategic Business Units (SBUs): Basic Chemicals; Intermediates; Polyolefins; PVC & Polyester; Fertilizers and Metals. Supporting all these functions is a corporate core consisting Human Resources; Corporate Finance; Corporate Control and Research & Technology. A Shared Services Organization became operational in 2003.
SABIC has two large industrial sites in Saudi Arabia – Al-Jubail and Yanbu – with sixteen world-scale production complexes. Some of these production complexes are operated with multi-national partners such as Exxon Mobil, Shell, Fortum, Ecofuel/ENI and Mitsubishi Chemicals. In addition, SABIC has interests in three production complexes in Bahrain. Over the last 16 years, SABIC’s overall production capacity has increased considerably. In 2003 it amounted to 42.3 million metric tons.
SABIC EuroPetrochemicals owns two petrochemical production sites in Geleen ( Netherlands) and Gelsenkirchen ( Germany) for the production, marketing and sales of polypropylenes, polyethylenes and hydrocarbons. They annually sell about 2.6 million tonnes of polymers, mainly in Europe. About 2,300 people are employed at SABIC EuroPetrochemicals.
SABIC employs over 16,000 people worldwide, most of whom are based in Saudi Arabia. In 2003 SABIC posted sales of approximately SR47.1bn (US$12.56bn) and a net profit of approximately SR6.716bn (US$1.79bn)
Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau, a company of the listed VA Technologie AG, is one of the world’s leading engineering and plant-building companies for the iron, steel and aluminum industries with a multinational company structure and special focus on technology, automation and services.
VAI Achieved total sales of 976 million EUR in 2003 and employs approximately 3,400 people worldwide
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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