HOUSTON (April 15, 2014) – An Iraqi trade ministry delegation tour of Mobil Steel International, Inc. resulted in high praise for the Houston-based AISC quality certified steel fabricator. The Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce set up the trade ministry tour of Mobil Steel’s 80,000 square feet steel fabrication site as part of a U.S. trip to find potential business partners. The week-long tour included stops in Houston and Washington, D.C.
Leonard A. Bedell, president and CEO of Mobil Steel, and several Mobil Steel managers met with Kadhim M. Jawad Al-Hasani, the senior advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Trade and members of the Iraq trade ministry delegation. Al-Hasani led a seven person delegation that spent several hours looking over Mobil Steel’s facility, talking with employees and asking questions about the company’s steel fabrication processes and knowledge. According to the tour coordinator, delegation members were impressed with Mobil Steel’s quality processes and international project experience.
“The Iraqis were pleased to see the quality that Mobil Steel puts into your product, and are excited by the possibility of more companies like yours signing up to do business in and with Iraq,” Matthew Kocian of the Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce told Bedell.
QUALITY, INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IMPRESSES IRAQIS
The Iraqi delegation witnessed Mobil Steel’s set up for an Iraqi project. Mobil Steel currently is fabricating structural steel for a project being built by one of the world’s largest energy companies in Basrah, Iraq. The Iraq project is the latest on a list of foreign projects Mobil Steel has fabricated in its Houston facility and shipped to foreign countries. In recent years, Mobil Steel fabricated steel shipped to the Caribbean, Peru, Argentina, Russia and Brazil.
According to Bedell, his company secured the Iraqi project work in part due to Mobil Steel’s work with global companies and Mobil Steel’s American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) quality certification. The AISC certification program is wellrespected internationally. AISC certifies companies only after conducting a rigorous audit and evaluation of quality standards, processes, procedures and techniques. Combining high-quality steel product and certified fabricating techniques ensures quality projects anywhere in the world, Bedell added.
“It is rewarding that the Iraqi delegation was impressed with our quality and our experience fabricating international projects,” Bedell said. “Mobil Steel has demonstrated that we can meet the production needs of our customers in the U.S. and overseas. We deliver quality, on-time projects.
According to Aida Araissi of the Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, Texas is the number one exporter to Iraq. The chamber organized the trade delegation for the Iraqi trade ministry to meet large corporations and small businesses with potential to establish economic partnerships with Iraq and the greater Middle East region.
“We were honored to host the senior advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Trade and show the foreign trade ministry that Mobil Steel has great equipment, people and production processes in place,” said Bedell.
About Mobil Steel International, Inc. Mobil Steel International, Inc. fabricates steel used in some of the world’s essential industries: chemical, manufacturing, petroleum, communication, clean fuels, and power utilities, as well as commercial construction. Mobil Steel, which has been at its South Wayside Drive facility in Houston for 44 years, has a production capacity of more than 1,000 tons per month in its 80,000 square feet of plant and office facilities under roof, providing flexibility to manage multiple projects. The 8.5-acre site is located within major freeway access to the refining and petrochemical complex in the Gulf Coast region. Mobil Steel is quality certified by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Mobil Steel is active in Associated Builders and Contractors, Associated General Contractors, Association of Chemical Industry of Texas, and American Welding Society. The company is a sponsoring member of Economic Alliance Houston Port Region and a member of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. Mobil Steel is a registered small business with the Small Business Administration. For information about Mobil Steel visit www.mobilsteel.com.
