J. Choudhry/KARACHI (Special Profile Review of ASL)
Amreli Steel has established itself as a pioneer of innovation and market leader in the steel manufacturing and production in Pakistan. Amreli Steel Private Limited that originated from Amreli-wala Hardware Industries, now stands taller and the strongest among its competitors in Pakistan because of over 5-decades long commitment and dedication of the management.
At present the products of Amreli Steel have become the first choice of the professionals of this sector who dislike compromise on quality of steel and firmly believe in quality and standards of the products to be used in manufacturing of steel products and construction of life-long mega projects.
Amreli Group believes in carrying forward its family legacy by maintaining its dominant-role in trade and industry by being socially compliant technology, system and contributing to the wellbeing of the shareholders and employees.
The unwavering vision of the ASL is to setup integrated steel manufacturing facilities, value-added services and other diversified businesses with the employment of best human resources and most modern systems’ implementation. The company aims to achieve and maintain a solid profitable growth rate, create value for its shareholders, customers, and look after the well-being of the employees and their families.
History of Amreli Steel
The Amreli family has been in the business of steel manufacturing for the past more than five decades. The founders of Amreli Steels migrated to Karachi in 1946 before Partition, from a small town, called Amreli in India, and established themselves in Karachi by dealing with nails, screws, files, wires and other hardware items. Then they gradually started manufacturing nails, rivets, screws and wires drawn from wire-rod.
During the 70’s, the sponsors established a number of hot rolling mills to produce steel bars, angles, T-iron and also started ship-breaking operations in 1973 for using ship plates to roll into bars under the umbrella of Amreli-wala Hardware Industries. From 1973 onwards the younger generation started entering the business after acquiring higher education and experience from world class universities & steel companies in various fields of engineering and management.
By the early 80’s and with the advent of strong increase in the demand for quality steels, the sponsors scrapped all its manual re-rolling mills and imported a semi-automatic mill from the United Kingdom, manufactured by Danieli – Italy, one of the world’s top manufacturers of steel equipment. In 1984 the sponsors converted Amreliwala Hardware Industries into a Private Limited Company.
Major Achievements
In 1989 Amreliwala Hardware Industries became the first company to introduce the concept of deformed steel bars in Pakistan, and soon after the name of the company was changed to Amreli Steels (Pvt) Limited (ASL). In 1993, ASL produced 50,000 metric tons of steel bars for the first time in Pakistan’s history using European technology.
The company’s commitment and ambitions of using the most modern re-rolling technology available in the world resulted in the installation of a continuous mill train in 2007, which increased the production capacity of the plant from 75,000 metric tons per annum to 180,000 metric tons per annum. Amreli was once again the first company to have a capacity of this size.
In 2008, ASL introduced Thermo Mechanical Treatment technology in Pakistan for the first time which produced the high strength deformed bars in the country. This was yet another milestone in the company’s history. Moving ahead with technological advancements and R&D, in 2009 Amreli added another feather to its cap of success and innovations by introducing earthquake resistant rebars in Pakistan.
Since its inception, Amreli Steels Limited has managed to build its reputation as one of the most trusted and reliable manufacturers of steel reinforcement bars in Pakistan. Not only does the company take pride in it being the largest steel bar manufacturer in the country, but the Amreli Steel brand has become synonymous with quality, strength and durability, making it the first choice of industry’s professionals today who pursue the high-quality steel materials. ASL is a dynamic and a mission-driven company that believes in strict adherence to its corporate values and code of ethics.
Today, the ASL is the backbone of mega projects in Pakistan, including famous landmarks, airports, infrastructures and other residential projects like Jinnah International Airport, Allama Iqbal International Airport, Aga Khan University and Hospital, MCB Tower, Ghazi Barotha Dam and the Northern Bypass which are just a few of many remarkable structures whose foundations were laid with Amreli Steel’s re-bars. These projects continue to stand taller with pride as integral monuments adding value to the skylines of this nation.
The product includes high strength deformed bars as per American and British specifications. The high degree of automation enables materials to remain untouched from the input stage of being fed into the reheating furnace up to the final bundling stage. The Amreli Steel Limited products were earlier manufactured from prime quality steel billets which were procured from Pakistan Steel Mills Limited (PSML). Since procurement from PSML did not fulfill the company’s total raw material demand, steel billets were also imported from different countries. The management then decided to install a state-of-the-art Steel Melt Shop (SMS) enabling continuous supply of raw material and ensuring quality output for its products. It was with this objective that the management set up a steel melt shop on 32 acres located in Dhabeji, 20 kms from Port Qasim. It was the first Melt Shop in Pakistan having a capacity to produce 200,000 tons of high quality billets.
The SMS comprises of two induction furnaces, one Ladle Refining Furnace and a two-strand continuous billet casting machine. ASL has spent approximately US$40 Million on the project and commercial production of the plant commenced on October 1st, 2011. Self-dependency of the company in its raw material further enhanced its ability to produce the best quality product at an affordable price. The SMS also provides the flexibility to produce the quality and lengths of billets as per the rolling mill requirements. The management’s vision for the future is to produce low alloy steel for the automotive industry in the future.
Being a trail blazer in Pakistan’s steel industry, Amreli Steels is one of the few vertically integrated steel bars manufacturer, giving it the liberty to ensure strict compliance with international standards. The company’s billet manufacturing plant is installed with cutting edge technology and is the largest in the country in terms of capacity. Continuously upgrading its manufacturing process, Amreli Steels’ fully automated manufacturing plant is a pioneer in producing 500 MPA High Strength Deformed Bars Xtreme® G-500 and ASTM Deformed bars – Grade 60, which are the mainstay of worldwide construction today.
ASL is very active in the CSR sphere where it supports:
- A complete primary school of approximately 150 students in Achar Salaar (a small town near the steel meltshop)
- The Hunar Foundation, a state-of-the-art vocational training institute certified by City and Guilds U.K
- The Amreli Foundation which is running a full-fledged ladies tailoring unit in Dhabeji.
The brand Amreli Steels pays homage to its fundamental philosophy of “mutual success”, which it has successfully incorporated in its four decades of successful operational history. The company has managed to achieve stratospheric growth by building on and adding value to its mutually beneficial professional alliances with all of its many stakeholders.
A few of the reasons why Amreli Steels takes pride in itself to be in the league of ace steel reinforcement bar manufacturers internationally are:
- Continuous and stringent testing of finished product to check for uniformity and accuracy in dimensions.
- Steel bars manufactured by Amreli Steels are consistent in weight, and therefore add to the reliability of a structure.
- Tension Free Rolling keeps the construction of the bars accurate and straight.
- ISO 9001:2008 and PSQCA certification.
- Conformity of products with the British and American standards.
With its priceless contribution to the nation’s infrastructure, Amreli Steels Limited has become a household name in Pakistan’s construction industry. Over the past few decades, the company has achieved many a milestone with continuously striving to evolve dynamically and ethically, always keeping stakeholder value and interests in perspective.
ASL becomes ACCA Approved Platinum Status Employer
Amreli Steels Limited is now an ACCA Approved Employer for Trainee Development stream (Platinum level). Very few organizations in Pakistan have Platinum Status and achieving Approved Employer status provides us with an accessible benchmark for training and support.
Workshop on Companies Act 2017 and Listed Companies [Code of Corporate Governance] Regulations 2017
The management of Amreli Steels gives vital importance to updating the knowledge-base of its employees by arranging seminars/workshops to get them conversant with new laws and regulations. Accordingly, an Orientation Course was arranged on 19 January 2018 at Avari Towers, Karachi with an objective to enlighten and encompass the comprehensive understanding on key changes brought in by newly promulgated Companies Act,2017 and Code of Corporate Governance Regulations, 2017. The Presenter of the workshop was Mr. Jawwad Shekha (Senior Partner of a reputed audit firm –M/s. Moore Stephens Shekha & Mufti, Chartered Accountants).
The workshop was attended by Mr. Abbas Akberali (Chairman), Mr. Shayan Akberali (the CEO), Mr. Zafar Ahmed Taji (Independent , Non-Executive Director), Mr. Teizoon Kisat (Independent, Non-Executive Director), Mr. Fazal Ahmed (Chief Operating Officer & CFO), other team members from Corporate Compliance, Finance, Tax, Corporate Affairs, Internal Audit and HR departments.
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