Severfield-Rowen girds up for UAE and India

UK structural steelwork contractor Severfield-Rowen has said it will be concentrating on oil and gas projects when its new Middle East office opens in January next year.

The company behind the steel structure at the main stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games in London is opening new premises in Abu Dhabi.

Chief executive Tom Haughey said that the office will be staffed by around six people and will concentrate on sales and management work. Its main focus will be jobs in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait.

He said that the firm has no plans to begin fabricating steel in the Gulf and will instead ship it out from its four plants in the UK, which includes its facility at Thirsk, North Yorkshire, where the company is based.

Haughey said that a business it is forming in India with JSW Steel will supply steel for that market only when it becomes operational in 18 months' time. The firm will seek contracts in India similar to Severfield-Rowen's UK work, such as retail, airport and hospital jobs.

He added: “We want to develop our export sales in recognition of the slowdown in the UK. We think the slowdown has accelerated since the summer.”

A number of big structural steel jobs have fallen by the wayside recently, including the BP4 office block at Canary Wharf in London's Docklands.

Haughey said that Severfield-Rowen is also looking at a number of high-rise and shopping mall projects in Dubai.