History

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is diversifying its economy to accelerate the growth of its non-oil based gross domestic product. The creation of an industrial sector based on economic cluster principles is a key element of this vision. Accordingly, in 2006, General Holding Corporation (GHC) began the development of a significant and durable upstream steel business to complement downstream private sector investments. GHC's chosen platform to implement this plan was an existing GHC business, the Mussafah-based Emirates Iron and Steel Factory (EISF).

GHC is a public joint stock company, which is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi. GHC’s direct parent is the Higher Corporation for Specialized Economic Zones (ZonesCorp) which is, in turn, wholly-owned and controlled by the Department of Economy and Planning. GHC's mandate is the promotion of industrial activities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in accordance with the Government’s strategy to embark upon a fast-track expansion of its industrial base, with particular emphasis on leveraging Abu Dhabi's competitive strengths, including its considerable low cost energy resources and proximity to key sectors, such as oil and gas, construction and petrochemicals.

EISF was established in 1998 as an unincorporated business directly controlled by GHC to satisfy the growing demand for quality steel products for the construction sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). EISF’s operations represented a relatively simple business, being a re-roller of imported steel billets, producing deformed concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) for sale in the domestic UAE market.

The rolling mill (RM1) was commissioned in October 2001 with a design capacity of 500,000 metric tons per annum (MTPA). Since commissioning, RM1 has been operated at annual levels well in excess of its nameplate capacity as a result of technical modifications, continuous improvement initiatives, the efforts and ability of the employees and optimized production planning procedures.