The British Independent Reinforcement Fabricators Association (BIRFA) has expressed its concerns over an article released in local media regarding the use of imported rebar on a Network Rail project in Cardiff, Wales, UK.
According to BIRFA’s statement, it has recently come to light that the Spanish long steel producer CELSA’s rebar mill in the UK is actually manufacturing some of its reinforcing steel products from steel bars it has imported from France and Norway. CELSA appears to have reduced its UK steel melting output to accommodate the imports.
As reported by WalesOnline, the use of imported steel has been described by Stephen Doughty and Stephen Kinnock, south Wales members of the UK parliament, as “an insult to British steelworkers” and in “possible breach of central government procurement guidelines”. As a response, BIRFA commented that since 2012 the UK has only had a single producer of the hot rolled reinforcement products, whereas previously there were as many as five. With the sole source highly integrated downstream into fabricated products, and thus in direct competition with independent fabricators, the market needs alternative sources of raw material. BIRFA stated that its members would welcome an alternative domestic source. However, there is no intent to insult domestic colleagues by the use of imports - but they are a necessity to ensure secure continuity of supply to the UK construction industry. Whilst government procurement guidelines are intended to ensure that UK mills compete with imports on a level playing field, they also recognize the need for best-value and security of supply, BIRFA said.