DUBAI — SABIC this week joined representatives of the Middle East’s iron and steel industry to chart the sector’s future in the coming year. Leaders from Hadeed – a SABIC company – spoke at the 22nd annual Middle East Iron and Steel Conference (MEIS) in Dubai, UAE. Mohammed A. Al-Zahrani, President of Hadeed, pressed the need for the industry to pursue excellence in reliability and operations and adopt commercial best practices.

The company was a Gold sponsor for this year’s MEIS which hosted more than 800 iron and steel professionals from the most important companies in the Middle East. The annual event brings together every market influential company in the steel ecosystem to create opportunities for industry collaboration and partnerships. The conference is all the more influential because of booming growth in the Middle East. For Saudi Arabia in particular, projects that are a part of Vision 2030 such as NEOM, the Qiddiya Entertainment City, the Red Sea Project and ongoing housing development promise to boost steel consumption in the region.

“This conference is critical for the future of our industry in the Middle East,” Al-Zahrani said. “Collectively we have the opportunity to take advantage of improvements in the market, but there are also challenges to overcome. At Hadeed we are facing both the opportunities and challenges head-on, and I am excited to see that becoming more of a trend in the regional industry.”

On a morning panel, Al-Zahrani further noted that the risk environment is changing, requiring a strong risk management culture. Companies must be agile enough to improve and restructure operating models in order to transform performance in this new era.

Al-Zahrani was joined at the conference by Ahmed Al Shangiti, Hadeed’s General Manager for Commercial. — SG