Dealers in steel, construction industry urged to ensure quality
Local suppliers and manufacturers in the steel and construction industry have been urged to conform to internationally accepted standards.
The immediate past Provost of the College of Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Samuel Kofi Ampadu, said ensuring quality of their products was the only way to grow their businesses for better outcomes.
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“Those who exceed even the minimum standards would outshine their competitors and potentially improve their profits and also maintain consumer loyalty,” he added.
The provost was speaking at a Fabrimetal celebratory dinner in Accra.
FabriMetal Ghana are manufacturers of rebars, high-quality thermo mechanically-treated steel reinforcement bars, and merchant bars used to construct residential, commercial, industrial, and civil structures.
The event was on the theme: “A night of quality: Excellence redefined” and was attended by industry players and government officials, among others.
Significance
Prof. Ampadu said infrastructure had proven to be the basis for improving the standard of living of people in any country.
“In order for Ghana to benefit fully and effectively, infrastructure materials should be manufactured in line with national and international benchmarks,” he added.
The provost, therefore, appealed to the government to support and encourage engineers and trade associations to improve on their trade.
Concerns
The General Manager of FabriMetal Ghana, Krishanthan Kumaravelu, said there was growing demand for high-tensile quality steel in the market but that due to lack of knowledge of the products, some customers preferred to buy low quality materials.
To address the situation, he said the company was collaborating with institutions like the Ghana Institute of Engineers (GIE), the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC), among other stakeholders.
“This is to ensure that the message is taken to the market for people to know what the right materials are”, Mr Kumaravelu added.
The Regional Managing Director of the company, Eric Gene, said his outfit would continue to grow its presence in Africa because they believed local manufacturing and the use of local resources and raw materials would create jobs.
Fabrimetal Ghana’s shareholder and Director of Melwa Group in Sri Lanka, Muruganandan Pillai, added that the company was committed to using best practices and advanced technology to produce materials in order to remain relevant in a competitive market.
Commendation
A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi, commended the company for introducing quality materials into the market, thus creating employment in the process.
He, however, urged local companies to ensure that their produce matched what they advertised in the media.
According to the deputy minister, it was because the government was committed to supporting local companies in the industry that the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC) was established.