ABU DHABI, 3rd August, 2023 (WAM) -- Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, Group CEO of Emirates Steel Arkan, said the group has achieved a strong financial performance in the first half of 2023 (H1 2023), despite the challenges facing the industrial sector.

He attributed the company’s success to a rise in demand from the local market, which accounted for 55 percent of the company's steel sales.

In his statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Al Remeithi also noted that the company exported some 45 percent of its steel production abroad in the first half of 2023, and the group's exports reached more than 70 countries, reflecting the quality and efficiency of products that bear the "Made in the Emirates" brand, in line with the company's efforts to help achieve the industry’s national strategic goals, including "Operation 300 Billion," which supports the national industry and aims to double production and exports to boost the country's GDP.

He also affirmed the group's strategy to expand in global markets and focus on producing high-value-added products, noting that in the first half of this year, the group succeeded in producing more than three times the amount of high-value-added products compared to the first half of 2022.

Regarding the company’s sustainability efforts, Al Remeithi highlighted the group's commitment to environmental competitiveness by reducing its carbon dioxide emissions, which was 45 percent lower than other factories globally and 44 percent lower locally, noting that the use of clean energy in their industry reached 80 percent last year, reflecting the group’s commitment to the global expansion strategy to produce low carbon dioxide emission steel, known as “Green Steel.”

Regarding Steel production, he noted to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), the Abu Dhabi Ports (AD Ports) Group, and the Japanese companies, ITOCHU Corporation and JFE Steel, to build factories that produce a complete supply chain of low-carbon steel to produce Green Steel.

He also expressed his pride in supplying steel to innovative projects in the UAE, including the Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi, which will be completed by 2025, adding the company provided all the steel products used for the museum’s foundation and construction and supplied the Al Habtoor City project in Dubai with innovative low-carbon and high-strength ES600 reinforcement.

This specific type of reinforcement reduces the use of steel in building foundations by some 18 percent to 24 percent, as it is highly robust and helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions, reflecting the company's commitment to keeping pace with market requirements and finding new solutions to support sustainability efforts and reduce costs.