Iligan facility to make RP self-reliant on steel plates

By Max V. de Leon

ILIGAN-based Global Steel Philippines Inc. (GSPI) will be opening today its mill that will make the country self-reliant on steel plates and, at the same, support the fast-growing domestic shipbuilding industry.

An industry source said that aside from supplying the demand of Philippine manufacturers, GSPI will also be exporting steel plates to other Southeast Asian countries.

The Philippines imports about 80,000 tons of steel plates annually and this demand is expected to be filled up by GSPI through its new mill.

The source said GSPI will be producing steel plates with a variety of thickness and applications to cater to various applications such as welded girders, flooring, storage tanks, machinery parts, barges, shipbuilding, marine and offshore construction, pipes and tube products, boilers and abrasion-resistant plates.

“This augurs well for the pursuit of the Philippines to become self-reliant on steel products, and this is timely because the shipbuilding industry is growing very fast with South Korea’s Hanjin already in the country,” the industry official said.

GSPI, the source added, is well-positioned to cater to Hanjin’s needs as the Indian-owned firm committed to produce top quality steel plates at competitive prices.

Hanjin Heavy Industries operates a shipbuilding facility and Subic, Zambales. The Korean-owned company has contracts to build six ships until 2010 totaling $1.2 billion.

The amount of the investment and the capacity of the GSPI plant will be announced by the company in today’s inauguration ceremony at its Iligan plant to be graced by the company’s local and international buyers, Indian diplomats, Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Elmer Hernandez and other government officials.

The initial batch of steel plates will be sold by GSPI to domestic customers within the month, the source said.

The opening of the steel plates mill also put GSPI another step closer to its goal of fully integrating its operations.

At present, the company is producing hot-rolled coils, hot-rolled plates, cold rolled coils (full-hard and annealed)  and tinplates, with total annual capacity of over two million tons.

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Iligan facility to make RP self-reliant on steel plates

ILIGAN-based Global Steel Philippines Inc. (GSPI) will be opening today its mill that will make the country self-reliant on steel plates and, at the same, support the fast-growing domestic shipbuilding industry.

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