Sulb has achieved a significant milestone in sustainable steelmaking with the successful deployment of SMS group’s Condoor technology at its Bahrain plant. The project marks the world’s first fully automated slag-door operation in a 100pct Hot Direct Reduced Iron (HDRI) electric arc furnace (EAF), setting new benchmarks for safety, efficiency, and decarbonization.
Installed on Sulb’s 130-ton tapping-size EAF, the Condoor system enables automatic, hands-free slag handling, eliminating manual intervention, reducing material losses, and enhancing energy efficiency. It also improves operational safety by keeping personnel away from hazardous zones and maintaining a clean furnace door bay with minimal manual effort.
The order was placed in February 2023, with the first heat completed in August 2024. Final Acceptance Certification (FAC) was achieved on June 4, 2025, following smooth execution and close cooperation between Sulb and SMS group.
Engineered over 15 years, Condoor acts as a precise slag valve control, ensuring stability in the melting process and compatibility with all solid and liquid raw material charges. Its modular design makes it suitable for both new installations and retrofit projects.
The successful integration of this advanced system highlights the strong partnership between Sulb and SMS, who previously delivered the site’s steel melt shop, caster, and rolling mill. Continuous technical support and feedback from Sulb played a key role in optimizing the solution to meet operational and sustainability targets.
Sulb, the first fully integrated producer of medium and heavy beams and structural steel sections in the Middle East. It operates two rolling mills, one in Bahrain and another in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. In Bahrain, Sulb runs a direct reduced iron plant, a melt shop, and a heavy & medium section rolling mill. Its Saudi facility, formerly known as UGS and rebranded as Saudi Sulb in 2011, features a continuous hot rolling mill, fed by steel billets from the Bahrain plant. Combined, the two sites have an annual production capacity of 1 mln tons of structural steel.
