KAM HOLDING LTD: “Proudly flying the flag as the largest indigenous steel industry in Nigeria.”

Exclusive interview with Farida Suleiman, Group General Manager External Affairs, KAM Holding Limited, gold sponsors at the upcoming Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja.

Can we start with the background of the company and your offering?
Good morning, everyone. My name is Farida Suleiman, Group General Manager External Affairs of KAM Holding Nigeria Limited, the largest indigenous steel industry in Nigeria, the flagship of Nigeria. KAM Industry as a wholly indigenous steel industry in Nigeria, owned by Dr Kamoru Yusuf, M.O.N. He’s the MD-CEO of KAM Holding. KAM Holding is a conglomerate of different companies in the steel industry. We have KAM Industries, KAM Steel Integrated, KAM Wire and KAM Steel Industry Sagamu. KAM holding has companies spread across Nigeria: KAM Industries Corporate Headquarters in Ilorin, Kwara State; KAM Steel Integrated Sagamu, Ogun State; Dimkit Global, Kaduna State; and Dimkit Global, Asaba, Delta State. We’re spread across the geopolitical zones of Nigeria. We’re in the southwest, northwest, south-south and north-central.

KAM Industry, owned by Dr Kamoru Yusuf, was established in 1996, strictly for the production of roofing sheets and nails. He then ventured into the premium products, rod iron and stone coated roofing sheets, which are state of the art. We have the electric arc furnace, which is the only one in the whole of Nigeria, and the only one in the whole of West Africa, and I think the second in the whole of Africa that melts scraps into liquid steel and produces rebars and rod iron.

KAM Holding Nigeria Limited has ventured into a lot of community development. They’ve been able to build roads, hospitals, giving empowerment to less privileged, schools in Kwara State where we have our corporate headquarters. We also have corporate headquarters here in Abuja, the seat of government. KAM Industries is a company that has hosted different programmes on behalf of the Nigerian government e.g., we hosted the National Instituted of Policy and Strategic Study (NIPS). We have been on the Industrial Council Committee headed by the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. KAM Industries produces liquid steel of 600,000 metric tonnes per annum and our rolling mill capacity is 150 metric tonnes per annum.

KAM Holding is second to none in Nigeria. It is the largest in capacity, modern technology and human capital development. KAM Holding has the highest certification of steel manufacturing in the world, which is the UK CARES. As I said earlier, KAM Industry is wholly indigenous, owned only by one Nigerian, Dr Kamoru Yusuf, who has stood in the steel sector as the steelman of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He’s been able to provide jobs, opportunities, he’s been able to grow, he’s been able to mentor, he’s been able to lead a lot of the steel sector.

How important is the steel sector for the future of Nigeria’s economy in your view?
The steel sector is very important to the growth of Nigeria. There is no economy or no country grows without its steel sector being in good shape. And that’s why the Nigerian government is proud of KAM Industries. It’s been raising the flag very high in the country and even abroad. The steel sector is very important for the growth of our economy. It will create employment and expand industrialisation in Nigeria. So, it’s indeed a bedrock of any growing economy. The steel sector is not a sector to toy with. It’s a sector that every government should look into. The steel sector is one sector that can create jobs in thousands and chains of job within that particular sector.

And that’s why I said it will grow any economy, it will grow the GDP and industrialisation will boom in any economy where the steel sector is given priority, when the steel sector is really looked into because the steel sector, there’s actually virtually nothing you do without steel. The steel sector is a sector that will give growth to the Nigerian economy.

What are the particular challenges in Nigeria and the region
Nigerian faces a lot of challenges when it comes to the steel sector which has been neglected by the government, but not neglected by the private sector. The private sector is really doing a lot to fly the flag of Nigeria in the steel sector. Basically, the challenges entail policies that will enable the steel sector to perform more easily. The steel sector is highly capital intensive and needs funds. It is a sector that to get it right, you must invest heavily in that sector. So, the Nigerian government, invested in the steel sector in the 70s, 80s and 90s. That’s why we have the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, which today the present-day government is trying to revive and get it back to work. So, the steel sector is not a sector to toy with. It’s a sector that needs friendly policies to make it work, because you need huge finances to run this sector. The major challenge, I think, in Nigeria is having in the steel sector is government ensuring that the sector thrives and it can only thrive if the government invests in it.

Is the Nigerian government doing the right things to attract investment in the sector?
Yes, today’s government in Nigeria is trying its best to ensure that it revives the steel sector. Like I said, the sector is highly capital intensive. As such, the Nigerian government has opened its doors to finances and investment opportunities in Nigeria for people to come in and invest in the steel sector. They are exploiting the mining sector, even the production sector. The Ajaokuta Steel Complex, which I know is 100% owned by Nigeria, today have gotten investors that are ready to take over that complex and start producing steel. So, Nigerian government is on the right track in trying to ensure that the steel sector is revived in Nigeria, as they know what the steel sector can do. It can create employment. It can increase the foreign exchange for Nigeria. It can create chains of production. Companies like the motor car companies can begin to come into the country to put up factories and industries. So, the Nigerian government is in the right direction in ensuring that the steel business is not something to toy with, and they are investing in it to ensure that it comes on board.

Let’s talk about the role of women in the steel sector. What has been your experience, and what is your vision?
The role of women in the steel sector is very minimal. But based on our own company, which is the KAM Holding Nigeria Limited, we have over 300 women in our nail sector, manufacturing nails, producing nails, packaging nails, and they are also custodians of our nail factory.

You need to see how beautifully women operate the machines, producing nails, and they do it absolutely well. At the managerial level, in our own company, I’m in the management team, and there are other women, too, on the management team. Women are playing vital roles. As we know, women are good administrators. Women are always very detailed in whatever they do. As such, I pray we have more openings for women in the steel sector and to engage more women, because it’s highly capital intensive. It is highly very mechanised sector, and you need the energy. It’s not easy to run a steel company or a steel complex. I tell you, so it’s not something that really women can do without the support of the men. So, I think it’s a sector that a lot of women should look into it and begin to think on how to invest in the steel sector. We have very few women in the steel sector in Nigeria. But I think with time as growth comes, we will begin to see more women in the steel sector.

You are a gold sponsor of Nigeria Mining Week. What made you decide to partner with the event?
We chose to be gold sponsors of Nigeria Mining Week because we’re the largest indigenous steel industry in Nigeria, second to none. We decided to be the gold sponsor for this year’s Nigeria Mining Week because we are the largest, we are the biggest; just because we’ve done it, we’ve practicalised it, and it’s working.

A lot of people think the steel sector is too large, it needs a lot of finance and they are not venturing into it. But we’ve been able to show that it is doable. We’ve been able to show that we can do it. And so we chose to be gold sponsors so that we can tell Nigerians that it is doable, there’s a Nigerian doing it, and that Nigeria is absolutely doing it well. You need to know that it exists. You need to come and see what a Nigerian has done, flying the Nigerian flag. It’s not just doing it in Nigeria. We have a company in China. We’re the first Nigerian company to have a company in Wuxi Jiangsu Province China East Region and India too. We’re creating employment in China. We’re creating employment in India. And a Nigerian is doing it proudly that’s Dr Kamoru Yusuf. And that’s why we have chosen to be the gold sponsor for the steel sector of the Nigerian Mining Week, to be able to show to the world that a Nigerian is proudly flying the flag of Nigeria in the steel sector.

Anything you would like to add?
I really appreciate the Nigeria Mining Week organisers for giving us this opportunity to showcase what we’ve been able to do, what we can do, and what we will do going forward. We want to tell the Nigerian government that we appreciate them for giving us the opportunity to be flying the flag high as the largest indigenous steel industry in Nigeria. We’re an employer of over 5,000 direct employment and indirect over a chain of 10,000, because there’s a lot of indirect supply chains in the steel sector. As I said earlier, we’re looking into venturing into iron ore, the mining sector. Currently, our main source of raw material is scrap. Once we venture into the mining of iron ore, so we begin to get our own solid steel for our production. But I bet the quality we produce now is the highest quality you can get anywhere in the world. As such, I want Dr Kamoru Yusuf to be encouraged by the Nigerian government, to be encouraged by the international community, to be encouraged by Africa, because he’s really doing what a lot of people don’t think an African can do. He’s employing over 200 expatriate  in Nigeria, working directly in the technical operations of the company.

He’s not just employing Nigerians, he’s employing foreigners. That means he’s increasing the bilateral agreements of Nigeria with India, with China, with other African countries. As such, I really want him to be encouraged. I really want him to be seen as a mentor to a lot of people. We’re open to mentorship. We’re open to groom in the steel sector for anybody that is interested. We’re policy driven. We always encourage that Nigerian government to look at people doing things practically, not just people coming with the books and saying this is what we’re doing, this is what we’re not doing.

Presently, we have corporate customers like the Chinese construction companies, the federal government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Works. Most of the contractors buy their steel products from KAM industries. We have big real estate developers that are our customers, such as Cosgrove and Triacta and a whole lot we’ve withstood time.

In almost all the road construction jobs going on in Nigeria today our products are being used. And in the southeast presently, they’re constructing roads with our rod irons of very high grade and standard. We’ve not failed. There has never been a time that our products have been taken anywhere for testing and have failed.

Our product has been vetted by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria. The books are therefore checked. Our premium product, which are stone-coated roofing sheets, are in the largest multinational estates here in the seat of government. They are verifiable. We’re not talking about things that are not doable. For even Nigerian Government contractors to be patronising us, you can imagine what it means. It means our quality stands the test of time. So I tell Nigerians to look out for KAM Industries, the leader in the steel industry. We will continue to lead, will continue to expand, will continue to grow, will continue to fly Nigerian flag very high. I wish Nigeria Mining Week a successful outing. Thank you.