Zamil Steel - A Strong Presence in Asia

Zamil Steel - A Strong Presence in Asia

Founded in 1977, Zamil Steel – a Saudi Arabian based company – focuses on designing, manufacturing and supplying top quality Pre-engineered Steel Buildings (PEB) in accordance with international codes and practices. With over 50 offices in the world and an annual production capacity exceeding 6 million square meters of buildings, Zamil Steel is considered the largest pre-engineered building manufacturer in Asia and Africa.

Recognising that South East Asia's demand for industrial buildings is on the up Zamil Steel introduced PEB systems to Vietnam in 1993. After four years of penetrating teh Vietnamese market, Zamil Steel Buildings Vietnam Co., Ltd. (or ZSV) was established in 1997 in Vietnam, located in Noi Bai Industrial Zone in Hanoi. The Hanoi-based factory started production in 1999. It is equipped with the latest high-tech machinery, and has the capacity to produce 2 million square meters of pre-engineered steel buildings per year.

As of today, ZSV is the only integrated PEB manufacturer in South East Asia who can design, fabricate, and supply complete steel building systems under one roof and has a high responsibility in terms of speed of construction and value for money. The PEB is vastly superior compared to other systems.

PEB consists of the following: the main frame, secondary framing (Z and C sections), roof and wall panels (single skin and insulated sandwich panels), structural subsystems (canopies, fascias, partitions, etc.), floor systems (mezzanines, catwalks, platforms, etc.) and other building accessories (sliding doors, roll up doors, windows, louvers, etc.). Around 65-70 per cent of ZSV production is meant for the domestic market and 30 per cent for export (through a network of fourteen area offices in ten South East Asia countries). Mr. Dennis Leu, the Marketing Supervisor said, "We have established ourselves in the domestic market and we hope to improve exports to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. In the long run, we expect to reach a production ratio of 50 per cent/50 per cent for each market while maintaining our domestic annual production volume."

"ZSV is one of the winners of the Golden Dragon Prize 2003 and has become the first steel building manufacturer in Vietnam to achieve the ISO 9001-2000 certificate from BVQI in 2003. ZSV has continuously focused on and improved product quality to remain the leading quality steel building manufacturer in the region."

"After China, Vietnam is the next country that has huge potential because of political stability and friendly investment climate."

"With an abundance of highly motivated and skilled labourers at a reasonably low cost, investors are finding Vietnam a particularly attractive country. With strong support from the government in the construction industry (which is fundamental in building a country), the demand for our product will remain for a very long time."

"However, in order for growth to be smooth, the government needs to quickly open up the various market sectors that work concurrently with the industrial sector, for example the domestic capital market, which will allow the government to generate enough funds to expedite infrastructure development, and the power sector, which requires expertise from foreign countries to enhance technology and efficiency. And last but not least, the telecommunication sector that will link Vietnam to all regions of the world."

"It is the intention of Zamil Steel corporate management to make Zamil Steel a name globally recognised for steel building construction. Hence ZSV's next focus will be expanding our presence in Asia (where Zamil has already established a strong presence in the Middle East, and at the same time expanding into Europe and Africa)."

"Zamil Steel will also be launching another quality product called MaxSEAM, a standing seam roof system that is widely recognized as the most weather tight roofing system in the world. Over the years, the demand for high quality products in Vietnam and the region is ever increasing and Zamil Steel, as a leader in pre-engineered buildings, hopes to meet this demand."

"In general, our main focus in the coming 5 years will be building a strong brand name in the steel construction industry across Asia, as well as maintaining and further enhancing ourselves in Vietnam, where our base is."

• Minh Nguyet