Four decades after Steel & Tube Industries Limited began producing steel products in Uganda, the company is looking to move further up the manufacturing value chain as rising construction activity and pressure to reduce reliance on imported industrial inputs reshape the country's steel sector.

The company, which started operations in 1985, now has manufacturing facilities and operations across Namanve, Kazinga and Nakawa. It says it employs more than 1,600 people directly and supports more than 8,000 additional jobs indirectly, with products supplied to markets including Kenya, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

But its next phase of growth could depend less on expanding finished-product capacity and more on securing access to raw materials within Uganda.

Steel & Tube has obtained a licence from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development for mineral development activities in Kanungu, where it is exploring the possibility of developing an iron ore-to-steel value chain.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

The proposed process would involve beneficiation of iron ore, followed by ironmaking, steelmaking and casting of billets, which are used as an intermediate input in the production of products such as reinforcing bars. The company says the project remains subject to technical and commercial feasibility.

If implemented, the investment would represent a significant shift upstream for a company that has traditionally operated further along the steel-production chain. It would also fit into broader government efforts to increase local value addition and reduce dependence on imported industrial inputs.

Responding to a changing construction market

Steel & Tube's expansion comes as Uganda's construction industry continues to create demand for steel products used in buildings, infrastructure and other projects.

Speaking at the Construction Hardware Dealers Association (CHADA) Convention 2026, Steel & Tube's Head of Marketing, Oscar Kamukama, said the company has been using engagements with dealers, contractors and other industry players to identify changing market requirements.

"Steel & Tube listens closely to the market," Kamukama said, citing customer visits, exhibitions, workshops and industry forums as some of the channels through which the company gathers feedback.

He said the feedback has influenced the company's development of products aimed at different segments of the construction market.

The company's portfolio includes reinforcing bars, water tanks, wheelbarrows, hoop iron, expanded metal, structural steel products and trailers. It also operates a Structural Steel Division involved in pre-engineered buildings.

Rather than relying solely on product expansion, however, the company's strategy increasingly appears to be centred on integrating more stages of production and strengthening its position in regional markets.

Competing on quality and standards

The issue of product quality was also prominent at the CHADA convention, where discussions focused on standards, responsible manufacturing and the role of hardware dealers in the construction supply chain.

Kamukama said the company views quality and customer service as complementary aspects of its business.

"Quality matters, but service is what turns a good product into a lasting customer relationship," he said.

Such claims are being made against a backdrop of persistent concerns across Uganda's construction industry about substandard building materials and compliance with product standards.

General Wilson Mbadi, Minister of State for Trade, used the convention to urge manufacturers and dealers to support quality standards and locally produced goods.

Mbadi also warned businesses against practices prohibited under the Fair Competition Act, including price fixing, saying violations can attract penalties of up to 10 percent of annual turnover.

His remarks placed the industry's commercial concerns within a wider policy debate over how Uganda can expand manufacturing while protecting consumers and maintaining competition.

Steel & Tube has supplied materials for a number of major infrastructure and construction projects in Uganda, including the restoration of Katonga Bridge after its 2023 collapse and works associated with Entebbe International Airport.

The company also identifies NSSF Pension Towers, the New Karuma Bridge, the Kampala Flyover, UEDCL and IGG towers, dams, Kabalega International Airport, the Marriott Hotel, Arena Mall Nsambya and the Uganda Cancer Institute among projects to which it has supplied steel products.

These projects illustrate the scale of demand available to domestic steel manufacturers, while also highlighting the importance of consistent quality and supply in large infrastructure contracts.

The company's collaboration with Roofings Group on the Hoima City National Stadium project also demonstrates that major construction projects can bring together competing steel manufacturers and suppliers where project requirements demand it.

The challenge of going upstream

Moving into iron ore and primary steel production would nevertheless be a substantially different undertaking from manufacturing finished and semi-finished steel products.

The proposed Kanungu project would require investment in mining, ore beneficiation, ironmaking and steelmaking infrastructure, as well as reliable energy and transport systems. Its viability will ultimately depend on factors including the quality and quantity of available ore, production costs, infrastructure, financing and the competitiveness of locally produced steel against imports.

Steel & Tube has said the project is still subject to technical and commercial assessment, meaning its eventual scale and timing remain uncertain.

The proposed investment nevertheless reflects a broader question facing Uganda's manufacturing sector: whether the country can move beyond importing key industrial inputs and capture more value from its own mineral resources.

The discussion at CHADA therefore extended beyond the sale of construction materials.

For Steel & Tube, the company's next public platform will be the Uganda International Trade Fair, where it plans to showcase its products and manufacturing activities.

The trade fair will provide another opportunity for the company to present its expansion plans at a time when Uganda is seeking greater local production, increased value addition and stronger regional trade links.

For the steel sector, the more consequential question is whether investments such as the proposed Kanungu project can translate those ambitions into commercially viable domestic production.

Steel & Tube's four-decade history gives it an established position in Uganda's steel market. Its next challenge will be demonstrating whether that experience can be extended from manufacturing steel products to developing a more integrated local steel value chain.