On August 2, 2016, the new compact steel plant of El Marakby Steel in Giza, Egypt, was officially opened with an inaugural ceremony. The electric steelworks supplied by SMS group has an annual capacity of 350,000 tons. It comprises a raw materials handling system, a 45-ton electric arc furnace, a ladle furnace with a transformer rating of 8 MVA + 20 percent and a three-strand billet caster supplied by SMS Concast.
“By producing billets in-house, we create value locally and strengthen our competitiveness by reducing our dependence on hard currencies. Additionally, the new plant allows us to expand our range of steel grades and produce rebars extremely flexibly,” said CEO Hassan El Marakby.
The ceremony was opened by a spokesperson of El Marakby who outlined the beginnings and the history of the factory. Subsequently, in a highly notable speech, CEO Hassan El Marakby explained the reasons for building the new plant and for choosing SMS as supplier. Next, Marcel Fasswald, Member of the Managing Board of SMS group, presented SMS group and its worldwide business activities, and emphasized the good cooperation with El Marakby. The ceremony was also attended by the Egyptian Minister of Industry and several representatives of local authorities. Also delegates of the German and Swiss embassies in Egypt were present during the event.
By producing reinforcing steel in the new compact steel plant, El Marakby is supporting the road network expansion in Egypt. The further development of the Egyptian road infrastructure is closely connected with the expansion of the Suez Canal by a second navigable channel. 3,000 kilometers of newly built roads will facilitate the exchange between the cities and ports in Egypt.
