SteelAsia makes deeper inroads into Canadian market
SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp., the Philippine’s largest steel producer, said it has shipped over 36,000 metric tons of high-strength steel bars in Canada in its latest batch of exports, marking a new milestone in its business in the North American country.
The Taguig-based Philippine steel company said this would make it their fifth export to Canada, bringing the total value of its exports there to $24 million (P1.32 billion).
“We have broken through the first world market where quality and performance standards are the highest. We have invested in the best available technology to produce the highest quality steel products and these shipments are our initial reward, and a validation of our reliability and capability”, said SteelAsia chair and CEO Benjamin Yao.
The firm said that the company executive’s vision is for the Philippines to have its own integrated steel industry that will give birth to new industries and businesses such as those that produce ships, cars, appliances and support others like construction and housing.
Today, the Philippines still imports most of its steel needs, sapping the country’s dollars and surrendering employment opportunities to the other countries, according to the company.
“In the Philippines, we export our resources such as steel scrap and iron ore, then import back finished steel products. This is a tragedy because the value and the jobs are created in another country and, in the meantime, the Philippines is import-dependent. We need job creation here, and that’s what having our own steel industry does,” Yao said.
Cebu operations
Last month, SteelAsia began operations of its Cebu steel mill, its seventh plant in the country, which expanded their capacity further to serve the central Visayan market.
The Development Bank of the Philippines funded the project through a long-term loan agreement back in June of 2020 amounting to P5.7 billion.
The company has been investing heavily in manufacturing plants to ramp up local capacity, as part of its goals to make the Philippines less dependent on imports of steel products.
Earlier in January, the company entered into an agreement with the world’s largest steel producer, China’s BaoSteel Group, to build a P108-billion integrated steel facility in a yet-to-be-disclosed location in the Philippines. INQ
