Based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, SULB is a successful integrated steel producer of long products with plants in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The plants are widely recognized as some of the best-performing plants in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), a political and economic union comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Maintaining a production rate of 144% of capacity in the melt shop and 120% in the heavy section mill, SULB is full steam ahead, doing its part in boosting the infrastructure in the GCC. Getting to that point was a challenging ride, and SULB credits its ability to perform at these levels and meet the market’s quality demands to its close cooperation with SMS group’s services team and local support, with whom they discuss technical changes and challenges on a weekly basis. In addition to the technological advancements, both companies stress that they are driving the plant’s success by aligning their diverse international workforce around a common mindset with clear value priorities: innovation, doing more with less, and limitless thinking.
Skyrocketing demand
There are good reasons why SULB is pushing forward so hard and expanding capacity. With several giga-projects underway in Saudi Arabia alone, the region is transforming its economy to rely less on oil-based profits. With sizable investments from GCC governments, SULB is right in the middle of this massive transformation and the steel-intensive infrastructure it requires. SULB realizes that such rapid change can only work with a supplier partnership that goes far beyond fixing single issues as they arise. Their partnership with SMS group is a pure-bred team approach in which SULB’s steelmaking know-how is continuously supported by SMS group’s engineering expertise. The partners are going about this by methodically identifying possible areas for improvement, clustering them into priorities, and executing them to maximize the value for both partners.
Decarbonization – beyond meeting requirements
As just about everywhere else, decarbonization is a major goal in the GCC countries. Specific targets are being set at the level of individual companies, with compliance and review mechanisms to ensure everyone performs. For SULB, this means that, by 2035, they have to reduce their 2015 baseline emissions by 35%. With a combined DRI-EAF route, the company already has a head start on many others. Thanks to energy audits with SMS group, SULB has been continually reducing its fossil energy consumption and, therefore, its CO2 emissions. On its current trajectory, the company will comfortably surpass the mandated 2035 goals. To continue showing improvements down that path, SULB and SMS group are also actively exploring additional avenues, such as new reheating furnace technologies and possibly converting the combustion system to hydrogen in the future.
Having a good technology partner is like living with your wife. That’s how we work with SMS. We’re solid partners.
Innovating to lead
Another significant economic driver in SULB’s market are the much-talked-about Saudi Arabia giga-projects as part of the country’s National Transformation Program to become less oil revenue dependent. But the transformation takes place on all levels, including new industries like electric car plants, solar energy installations, and even an expanding public transportation sector. For SULB, all of this is good news on the demand side, but it will also pose a challenge to the company. The giga-projects and other new markets will motivate SULB to expand and optimize its portfolio. SULB is already working closely with SMS on several projects to upgrade the existing mill in Bahrain to cater to some of the new size, quality, and materials requirements. In addition to the energy audits and the productivity-boosting revamp of the 130 ton electric arc furnace, SMS group is also installing the first TBK laser measurement system for contactless dimension measurement and surface defect detection on the Arabian Peninsula into the heavy section mill in Bahrain. Ravi Singh, SULB CEO, is optimistic about the company’s prospects to serve a sizable chunk of the market created by the giga-projects. Because of the SMS group partnership and the upgrade projects underway, he believes they will be the mill first in line to meet all the new giga-project requirements. Singh sees the SMS group partnership as something akin to a marriage: “Having a good technology partner is like living with your wife. That’s how we work with SMS. We’re solid partners.”