According to recent statistics, steel production in the Middle East increased by about seven per cent in August 2009 compared to July 2009.
The Middle East is the only region which has registered a positive growth of 2.2 per cent during the _rst eight months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.

The long-term outlook for the Middle East steel market is more promising, given an expected rebound in the oil price fuelling economic growth and capital investment.

Hadeed (Saudi Iron & Steel Company) is to build a new Iron & Steel plant in Jubail Industrial City. Newly formed Sulb National Co will start before the end of next year a 300,000 tonnes steel billet plant to cover 20 percent of Saudi Arabia's de_cit in this product. The world's biggest steel maker Arcelor Mittal plans to build a $130 million steel plant in Kurdish northern Iraq in partnership with the Turkish company Dayen.

The Arcelor Mittal joint venture plant with the Bin Jarallah Group to produce upto 500,000 tons of seamless tube in Saudi Arabia is expected to be completed in 2011. Foulath, a Bahrain-based metals specialist, is considering contracts for three iron pelletizing plants.

Two of the prospective plants are in Egypt with the third located at Salalah, Oman. These new, up-coming and existing steel plants suggest an interesting market in the Middle East for global suppliers to the steel industry.

As a result, steel demand is set to rise over the next few years. By 2013, regional _nished product demand is forecast to grow to 85.5 million tonnes with raw steel production projected at over 50 million tonnes.

The SteelTech exhibition was launched in January 2008, and was held alongside the SteelFab exhibition at Expo Centre Sharjah. However, with the launch of T.I.M.E. in 2009, Steel-Tech became a key component of it.

Steel-Tech is set to feature suppliers of turnkey steel plants, furnaces,rolling mills, mill instrumentation, refractory, mill accessories
& consumables, coil handling machinery, galvanizing & annealing lines.

It is expected to attract visitors from the region's steel producers & steel mills, primary steel processors, tube and pipe manufacturers and steel wire manufacturers. Also attending will be manufacturers of various steel products, traders, stockists and distributors.

A major attraction at SteelTech 2011 will be a conference, which will be addressed by key players in the industry from across the globe.