UAE - Mubasher: Emirates Steel, the UAE’s sole integrated steel plant and a subsidiary of the General Holding Corporation (SENAAT), has signed an agreement with the Finland-based ECOFER.

The agreement, set to come into force in 2020, will provide Emirates Steel with sustainable slag management services for the coming 10 years, in line with the company’s long-term commitment to eventually produce zero waste, according to a press release on Tuesday.

Moreover, ECOFER will manage slag from Emirates Steel’s Electric Arc Furnace and Ladle Furnace as part of the agreement, the release said.

This will give the opportunity to the company to maintain delivery of high-quality products at competitive costs to customers around the world, while improving the sustainability of its operations and facilitating the reuse of slag as a construction material.

The agreement was signed by CEO of Emirates Steel Saeed Al Remeithi and managing partner of ECOFER Technologies Ismail Fahmy at Emirates Steel’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

Emirates Steel has succeeded in recycling its electric arc furnace (EAF) slag product since 2014, producing nearly 2,800,000 tonnes of EAF slag over the past five years, and selling it for use in the construction industry.

Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, CEO of Emirates Steel, said: “As one of the largest integrated manufacturers of finished steel products in the region, we produce 800,000 tons of slag annually, and we are committed to finding ways to mitigate our impact on the environment. By deploying advanced technological solutions, such as those offered by ECOFER, we will be processing 800k tons per year, so over the first two years we will process around 1.6M tons of slag.

Emirates Steel aims to cut environmental footprint and enhancing their manufacturing and sustainable practices in line with the company’s long-term objective of eventually producing zero waste, Al Remeithi noted.

For his part, managing partner at ECOFER Technologies Ismail Fahmy said: “This initiative, our first partnership in the UAE, is part of our expanding global business strategy, as we make strategic partnerships across the Middle East, following our first successful agreement with Ezz Steel in Egypt earlier this year. We are proud to sign this agreement with Emirates Steel today.”