Pula Steel Casting and Manufacturers, a subsidiary of BCL Limited is expected to reduce importation of steel into the country. For years the local demand has been met primarily by South Africa and China which supplied 50 and 40 percent respectively. Pula Steel, which is part of BCL’s ambitious POLARIS II strategy, is a partnership between BCL, the Verma family who are technical partners, and Wealth Generations – a citizen owned company.
Vice President, Mokgweetsi Masisi officially opened the company’s first phase of the production process which will produce billet for export. He said Pula Steel is strategically located to serve both the domestic and external markets. “Pula Steel is the first company in the country that processes scrap metal into intermediate products called billet and will further process billet into different types of steel products such as rebar and other products. ”I am reliably informed that in eight months the production process will add a second phase which will produce re-bar and other products; a considerable part of which will be for the local market and some for export,” he said, adding that the first phase will employ 250 people and will grow the number to 1000 workers in the second phase.
Masisi further stated that steel is a basic commodity which is required by any developing economy, for infrastructural developments, mines and construction. “According to international trade statistics, SADC imported P36 billion worth of steel in 2014 and the local demand amounted to P775 million.” He further noted that the establishment of Pula Steel has created an opportunity for other investors to consider investing in potential downstream projects such as production of nuts and bolts, screws, and nails just to mention a few.
According to Masisi, the Pula Steel Project has all the hallmarks of what he considers to be a model Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) project, which is: government facilitation; private sector driven; export oriented; import substitution; sustainable job creation; and has potential for downstream economic activity.