ZAMIL STEEL VIETNAM BOOSTS CAPACITY WITH NEW SOUTHERN PLANT

HANOI, Apr 25, 2008 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- -- Pre-engineered steel-building producer Zamil Steel Vietnam on April 23 opened its second factory in Vietnam, in the Amata Industrial Park in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The facility, covering more than 24,000sq.m, will produce 4,500 tonnes of steel buildings per month. It will help bring the company's total annual production to 100,000 tonnes or a total annual production of 50-100,000 tonnes, once it reaches full operating capacity, according to the company.

"While demand for steel buildings is still increasing strongly, our plant in Hanoi has been at full capacity for the last few years, after two expansions [in 2002 and 2004]," said Zamil Steel Vietnam general director George Kobrossy.

"We think that the time now is right for us to operate the new factory to meet the demand and better serve our customers in Vietnam as well as in the region," said Kobrossy. "The opening of the factory is also proof of our long-term commitment to the Vietnamese economy." Construction of the US$14 million plant would increase the total investment of Zamil Steel in Vietnam to over US$35 million.

In addition to pre-engineered steel buildings, the company will develop two new production lines at the Dong Nai-based facility: structural steel and open web joists, with which it plans to seek buyers in the petrochemical and construction sectors.

Zamil Steel Vietnam was established in 1997 as a joint venture between Saudi Arabia's Zamil Steel Industries and Japan's Mitsui & Co Ltd (TSE:8031). The first factory, located in Hanoi's Noi Bai Industrial Zone, produced 5,000 tonnes of steel buildings per month in 2007.

(VNA)

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