Sideralba Maghreb has become SM Tunis Acier S.A: this is the name of the company born from a partnership agreement signed yesterday in Milan between the Italian entrepreneurial families Marcegaglia and Rapullino, Marcegaglia and Sideralba announced in a joint statement.
The company, formed by an equal joint venture between Marcegaglia Carbon Steel Spa and Sideralba Spa, will strengthen its business in the sector of processing cold and galvanized coils. Thanks to an initial investment plan of €10 million and important industrial synergies, SM Tunis Acier S.A. aims to double production, passing from the current 200,000 mt to 400,000 mt of products by 2023, with an estimated value of €500 million.
The plant now has 320 employees and is located in the Bizerte Economic and Industrial Park, in Tunisia. Located in the extreme northeast of the country, on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, the Governorate of Bizerte enjoys a geographical position that gives it an important competitive advantage, also thanks to the presence of a multisectoral hub that combines heavy industry with cutting-edge technology and boasts a qualified labor market.
One of the strategic objectives of the partnership is to strengthen its presence in the North African market. Attached to the plant, there is also a port quay from which it is possible to reach trade routes to Europe, the Arab countries and the American continent.
The board of SM Tunis Acier S.A. will be made up of representatives of the two families and managers of both companies. Alongside Tommaso Rapullino (president) and Antonio Marcegaglia (vice president), there are Luigi Rapullino and Daniele Palombi representing Sideralba Spa and Emma Marcegaglia and Marco Costi representing Marcegaglia Carbon Steel Spa.
"We strongly believe in this industrial partnership, which also arises from bonds of deep friendship between our two families," commented Antonio and Emma Marcegaglia, respectively president and vice president of the group of the same name. This partnership "will certainly draw competitive advantages from the strength of our industrial know-how and from being a group that operates globally, with an important supplier package," they added.
"We are very satisfied with the entry of the Marcegaglia group into our Tunisian subsidiary. We are determined to keep our investments in Tunisia and we are convinced that the synergies that can be created with the Marcegaglia Group, combined with the experience that Sideralba has gained in recent years in North Africa, will only strengthen our performance," said Luigi Rapullino, CEO of Sideralba Spa.