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OCTOBER 2015 | 47 Reinforcing Steel PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY HARRIS REBAR; HERITAGE STEEL SALES LTD. D Despite a host of challenges, reinforcing steel companies continue to build on their hard-won talent for construc- tion innovation and efficient business management. Many of them have fortified their field leadership to take advantage of work opportunities in other parts of Canada, wherever they arise. And uniformly, they understand the importance of on-site safety, to the point where safety leaders are increasingly being recruited not merely for their knowledge of the rebar industry, but because of their expertise in sectors as diverse as power, mining and energy. Without exception, they also strive to exceed cus- tomer expectations, which is why companies such as Salit Specialty Rebar (SSR) have risen to prominence in the North American market. SSR stocks over one million pounds of stainless rebar, which enables the company to be responsive to every conceivable cus- tomer requirement. SSR distinguishes itself by stocking all sizes and grades including 316 LN and 2205 Duplex. SSR also focusses on innovation and its Niagara Falls-based stainless-only production line eliminates rebar contam- ination that is normally caused by black carbon dust. At Sherwood Steel Limited in Alberta, the focus is on the infrastructure, commercial and residential seg- ments of the market. "We work with a wide range of contractors, from large to small, across each of these segments," says spokesman Duane Kotun. Unlike some competitors, Sherwood, which recently completed the Edson Healthcare and Continuing Care Centre, limits its customer base in order to maintain high levels of service and develop repeat business. "We want to be the company that can get the product to the work site on time to meet the contractors' needs wher- ever possible," says Kotun. "We try to see ourselves as a partner rather than just a supplier." The market for rebar and related services seems to be as fierce as ever, despite analysts arguing that Canada's recovery from the 2008 recession was ane- mic at best and a new recession is technically already underway. Harris Rebar, which is owned by Nucor and has over 70 locations across Canada and the U.S., added a few world-class projects to its portfolio during these supposedly troubling times. One of them was the supply and installation of rebar for the new Port Mann Bridge, which, as part of the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project, was the larg- est transportation infrastructure undertaking in B.C. history. In order to double the capacity of the old bridge and widen the highway, 28,000 tonnes of rebar and 13,000 tonnes of structural steel was required, along with 116 steel composite segments for the cable-stay span of the bridge and 45 kilometres of cable. Harris also recently supplied product for the $3.8-billion One World Trade Center, a significant job for the rebar sector overall in that cast-in-place reinforced concrete was widely acknowledged as the construction material of choice for security-sensitive structures. Structural engineers and the architects at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the tower with a core of cast-in-place, reinforced concrete as an extra-strong backbone running the full height of the building; this also gives better protection for stairwells, the walls around which measure three- feet thick or more. Over 26,000 tons of reinforcing steel plus miscel- laneous formworks was required for One World Trade Center, and since bundles of reinforcing steel rebar each weighing between 25,000 and 30,000 pounds had to be hoisted to each floor, two F800BXP.28L214 articulating cranes were adopted and mounted on cus- tomized bases to assist in handling and positioning. Harris also supplied rebar for The Bow office tower in downtown Calgary. Aside from The Bow obliging Ledcor Construction to conduct the largest continuously poured footing of a commercial build- ing in Canada (40 hours, or 1,300 truckloads), its 2,787-square-metre foundation slab used 2,500 tonnes of reinforcing steel and 15,000 pounds of tie wire, and rebar installation took two months to complete. Projects of this complexity are fodder for organiza- tions such as the Reinforcing Steel Institute of Canada. Its case history of achievements in the rebar sector is steadily growing and includes classic highlights such as the Rogers Centre in Toronto, whose only completely retractable stadium roof in the world could never have been realized were it not for an intricate rebar system developed during the design stage. Of course, whether the economy has slid into a recession or is holding its own, providing product to as many projects as possible is the desired business strategy for any rebar provider. For 2015, Heritage Steel Sales Ltd. of Langley, B.C. is involved in several tower constructions (including the Modello tower in Burnaby and the Charleson in Vancouver), a Walmart new-build in Richmond and a K+S Potash Canada handling and storage facility in Port Moody, which is designed to hold over 150,000 tonnes of potash. The rebar contract value of each project is between $1.6 and $5.4 million. This comes on the heels of the recently completed Kiwanis and Evergreen towers (in Richmond and Coquitlam respectively) and Vancouver's Langara College Science and Technology Building. "We had a very slow first two quarters this year but are prepar- ing for strong growth for the remainder of 2015 and well into 2016," says Heritage's president Martin Gobin. Gobin adds that "ever since we partnered with Salit Steel in 2013, we've continued a pattern of sus- tainable growth while providing a safe working environment for our employees and maintaining our core values." Harris's objectives are helped by its new 24,500-square-foot plant, which contains two shear lines, four table top blenders, two automatic stirrup machines, a radius bender and a spiral machine. However, Gobin echoes the sentiments of his col- leagues in the rebar sector when he says, "the labour market is tightening up by the day, and it's very com- petitive with thin margins. Plus, the anti-dumping case has forced us to seek new sources of material and cre- ated uneasiness in the supply chain, which has been difficult to manage." Gobin is referring to one of several key ongoing challenges facing the rebar industry. In June of 2014, the Canada Border Services Agency initiated inves- tigations under the Special Import Measures Act regarding alleged injurious dumping and subsidizing of rebar originating in or exported from China, Korea and Turkey. The investigations were triggered by com- plaints from Alta Steel Inc., ArcelorMittal LCNA and Gerdau Longsteel North America. The dumping action and resulting import tariffs impact steel pricing and supply in Western Canada, because B.C. and Alberta traditionally rely on steel imports in order to avoid high transport costs from central Canada and the U.S. Other pressures on pricing are causing Canadian rebar providers to temper their enthusiasm for the future: the U.S. construction market, which was recov- ering painfully slowly, has rebounded at a far speedier rate over the past year, especially in the west – mean- ing it has transitioned from a market eager to export its steel to Western Canada, to relying on its own pro- duction for domestic consumption. And then there are Asian economies. Although steel pricing was moderated due to the slowdown of activ- ity in countries such as China, many analysts believe activity will soon heat up again – and even if consump- tion won't match previous rates, it will have an impact on the Canadian market. But rebar suppliers are well aware that the future has a tendency to defy expectations. For the time being, opportunities abound from coast to coast – which is as good a scenario as anyone can hope for. A Opportunities abound for the rebar industry by ROBIN BRUNET Steel Making Waves 12:43 PM

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