Mr Selcuk Ozdil VP of the Turkish Structural Steel Association said while speaking at a Turkish Steel Market Conference held in Istanbul that usage of structural steel in Turkey commenced 10 years ago. Before the 1999 earthquake demand for structural steel and production of these products did not exist in the country.
He said that in this context, the association began its work, focusing on publicizing the usage of structural steel and the resulting advantages. He added that the association’s efforts had succeeded, resulting in significant growth in the consumption and production of the products in question. He also pointed out that a complete range of sections are currently being produced in Turkey.
Mr Ozdil went on to state that Turkey is now a net exporter of structural steel and thanks to the development of this sector, structural steel is now a major export product for Turkey, just like rebar. According to the figures presented by Mr Ozdil, Turkey’s structural section production capacity has reached 2.15 million tonnes while the country’s domestic consumption stands at 575,000 tonnes and Turkey’s apparent consumption is estimated to reach 1 million tonnes.
Mr Selcuk Ozdil pointed out that the potential of the structural steel industry is improving, as sustainable construction activity and investments for renewable energy increase, as production of stronger and lighter products is realized with innovations in design and as more economic production is achieved with the increase in capacities.
(Sourced from Steel Orbis)