INOVEX and GEAP International announce joint venture under Offset Program

The local shareholders are Independent Enterprises & Co. and GEAP International (UAE) LLC. The foreign shareholder is INOVEX Simulation & Training.

The project company is a new offset joint venture facilitated by the Offset Program Bureau (OPB), in line with the requirements of the UAE Offset Program, which aims at adding value to the UAE economy through defense equipment procurements made by the UAE Armed Forces.

"This is yet another project that fulfils our core objectives of creating commercially viable, profitable, sustainable, and unique joint ventures, bringing in latest technology and expertise, offering citizens stakes in new businesses, and creating job opportunities for UAE nationals,"

said Mohamed Saif Al Mazrouei, CEO of the OPB, the governing body for implementation of UAE Offset Program.

"The project company will reinforce the rapid pace of development witnessed in the UAE and Gulf construction sectors by providing its combined expertise and quality services for this booming sector. As with most of the offset companies, the project is one-of-a-kind and aims at meeting the rising demand for quality steel reinforcement bars in the UAE and the region," said Saif Al Hajeri, Director of the Offset Ventures Unit at the OPB.

"The steel rolling mill will produce high yield, hot rolled deformed steel reinforcing bars conforming to international standards. It will also have the capacity to customize its products to the client's requirements and should produce approximately 480,000 metric tons of rebar steel per annum," said Fritz Schaerer of INOVEX Simulation & Training.

"This is a unique opportunity to engage in import replacement and simultaneous product manufacturing for the UAE, making the country less dependent on outside suppliers of steel rebar for its construction projects. We will be able to provide special requests for rebar and utilize the latest technology to cut & bend the steel in highly automated manner. Our intention is to produce 40,000 tons of steel rebar per month from the steel rolling mill, and, to utilize 15,000 tons of that steel rebar per month in our own cut & bend manufacturing facility,"

said Mahendra Patel, Group Managing Director of GEAP International (UAE) LLC.

Demand for steel in the UAE is currently estimated at 2.5 million tons per year and is forecast to reach 5 million tons per year in the medium term.