African Foundries bridging demand-supply gap in steel—Structural engineers

The Institution of Structural Engineers says African Foundries Limited is bridging the gap between demand and supply in Nigeria’s steel sector.

The engineers also endorse the company and back it to meet the country’s demand for steel products.

The executives of the engineering group, who visited the plant, said they were amazed to see African Foundries fully automated, noting that AFL’s quality standards were high. The engineers said they witnessed the testing procedures which were very stringent.

The endorsement, the institute said, was as a result of the company’s proven track record of churning out quality and durable steel products that had continued to surpass consumer’s expectations, maintaining that it was no surprise AFL was the number one choice for industry giants in the steel industry.

Eddy Atumonyogo, president of the Institute, during a facility tour of AFL’s factory, said: “Based on what we have seen, we will let our members know. We have been specifying your Tiger brand for quite some time now and most of the industry giants in the steel industry have also confirmed the quality of your brands. I am sure this will not be the end of collaboration between the Institute and AFL. We have a lot of programmes where I can give you visibility when we have our conferences for you to tell us more about your brands.”

He acknowledged the fact that the company had the capacity to meet the nation’s demand for steel products, after listening to a presentation that illustrated that it had installed capacity of about 500,000 metric tonnes per annum.

On his part, Bright Ukponu, secretary of the Institute, stated that the company had bridged the demand and supply gap for steel products, adding that it was proving to the world that good and quality products could be produced in the country.

He added that the endorsement was required to boost the confidence of consumers in made-in-Nigeria products which he said would go a long way in complementing the federal government’s plan to diversify the nation’s economy away from hydrocarbon resources.

The institution expressed joy that despite all the challenges hindering the manufacturing sector of the economy, the company had been waxing strong, saying that if the federal government could address infrastructural challenges, Nigeria would be a big player in the global steel industry.

The company was commended for being the only CARES certified mill in the country, a certification that is the most respected in the world. The company said it was one of the major exporters of steel products to ECOWAS.

ODINAKA ANUDU