Unseen cost of steel processing in EAC

Transition from Electroplating to Hot Dip Galvanization technology for steel wires hurts industry

COMMENT | SOLOMON A. MUTAGAYA | The East African Standards are prepared by the East African Standards Committee (EASC) that was established in accordance with the East African Community Standardization, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Testing Act., 2006. This committee is comprised of representatives from EAC’s regional bodies for partner states including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda (BNN, KEBS, RBS, SSBS, TBS and UNBS) respectively.

On June15, 2021, as part of the requirements for the release of new regional standards, the East African Community Gazette, a regional newspaper, published a series of East African Standards, some as new editions and others as revised editions to replace the old ones. The compliance deadline to this Standard, calling for a change in technology is only 5 months away, at least in the Ugandan context.

The Standards revision saw the replacement of EAS 135:1999 and cancellation of US 193: 1 and US 193: 2 to EAS 135:2021, a Standard for Steel Wire and Steel Wire Products for Fencing as a 2^nd Edition. It specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for steel wires and wire products used for fencing purposes.

Part of the requirements, under Clause 4 of the newly adopted East African Standard US EAS 135: 2021, lies a commandment that “The method of coating shall be hot-dip galvanizing.” ruling out Electroplating as an optional method for galvanization of the said final products, unlike what it was in the past when US ISO 7989-1 and 2 provided for both Hot Dipping and Electroplating Galvanization methods.

This newly revised East African Standard US EAS 135:2021 emphasizes that the method of coating shall be Hot-Dip Galvanization. Simply put, this means that, a complete transition of all Steel wire for Fencing Manufactures with old conventional Electroplating Technology to Hot Dip Galvanization technology regardless of whatever costs it involves.

Fast forward, Electroplating/ Electro-galvanization refers to a process in which a protective layer of say zinc is bonded to steel for purposes of protection from rusting and corrosion. This process involves running current through an electroplating bath with zinc as the anode and the steel as the conductor. On the other hand, Hot-Dip form of galvanization is a process that involves coating iron or steel with a layer of zinc by immersing the metal in a molten bath of zinc at temperatures of about 450^oC. A metallurgically bonded coating is established to provide sacrificial protection to the iron or steel from harsh internal or external environments in both methods.

Hot Dip Galvanization has been here since it was first introduced in 1742 by the French chemist P. J. Melouin after he presented a paper describing how a zinc coating could be attained by dipping iron in molten zinc. Similarly, Electroplating Galvanization has been here since it was invented in 1800, although the first bright deposits were not obtained until the early 1930s with the alkaline cyanide electrolyte. Even to a stage where, the use of acid chloride baths improved the brightness even further later, in 1966.

So you see that even when Hot Dipping was a much older process, Electroplating was much more preferred. Not only because it was more cost effective method but also because of other benefits it carries. Although, this is not to say that it is a best method of zinc coating, because in terms of zinc-metallic bonding chemistry the former does a better job, However, The question one may ask the EASC pushing for the transition is, why now?

When it comes to product quality, we all know the rule of thumb, the better the quality, the higher the cost. On the other hand, the thing about the quality intended for the final consumer is that, it should as well be cost effective. At the end of the day, in order to maximize trade whilst maintaining quality, a regional standards body ought to strike a balance between product quality and the intended pricing. Otherwise, for what use would it be for East Africa to have the best quality steel products which final consumers cannot afford.

In my opinion, there is no doubt that, based on scientific research, Hot dip method offers a higher corrosion resistance layer to the metals in question, however the EASC’s proposed technical and technological transition possess a number of repercussions which are not limited to: the negative ripple effect that comes as a result of increased production costs which will be finally be felt by the final consumer, especially at such time of reported increase in prices of essential metals that emerged as a result of the Russia – Ukraine conflict, increased insurgence of work related injuries coming as a result of adopting the new high-temperature driven process by employees, loss of jobs, a likely shut down of industries whose equipment were only based of Electroplating form of Galvanization Systems.

All this at a time after the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Matia Kasaija’s budget speech of June 2022 where he noted that “The industry sector is expected to grow by 5.4 percent up from 3.5 percent growth last financial year, largely on account of recovery in manufacturing and construction activities. The industry sector is projected to contribute 26.8 percent to our GDP.”

Therefore much as, Uganda’s UNBS, Kenya’s KEBS, Burundi’s BNN, Rwanda’s RSB, Tanzania’s TBS and South Sudan’s SSBS do a great job at implementation of the EASC’s regional standards, the local African final consumers should be put at the core of the discussion as part of the key Stake Holders, as well as statistically accessing the impact factor a given Standard’s implementation will pose to the bigger picture of the Industrial Sector and the National Economy.

****

Solomon A. Mutagaya is chemical engineer, Quality Assurance Manager at KCL Group. msolomon788@gmail.com