Posted on 30 Apr 2025
Thailand will re-examine the use of induction furnace bar products amid quality concerns and pollution generated in their production, Kallanish notes.
The Thai government is planning to review the industry certification for these products and could possibly prohibit their use. This move comes soon after it was alleged that bar from a local induction-furnace mill operator was used in a building which collapsed in Bangkok in the aftermath of an earthquake in Myanmar.
Steel produced in induction furnaces are not of consistent quality and the production process yields higher levels of dust and toxic gas emission, industry minister Akanat Promphan is quoted as saying by The Nation. The country has reportedly stopped the production and sales of steel bar made in seven induction furnace mills and is investigating three more because they failed to meet the 2016 bar standard set by Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI).
Thailand has electric arc furnace steel production capacity of 4.3 million tonnes/year, while domestic demand for steel bars was around 2.8mt in 2024, he notes. “Therefore, a review of the Thai Industrial Standards Institute certification for steel production using IF furnaces is feasible, paving the way for discontinuing certification of steel produced by this method,” he was quoted saying.
There are currently 14 induction furnaces mills in Thailand; most are Chinese-owned and some are joint ventures with Thai partners, notes Iron & Steel Institute of Thailand director Wiroj Rojwattanachai. He foresees that revoking the TISI standard for IF-produced steel may be time-consuming and complex. However, the industry ministry has authority to directly issue an order to revoke the TISI standard in “exceptional or emergency circumstances,” he adds.
Induction furnace steel tends to be cheaper than EAF product due to differences in production costs and less stringent quality control processes, Federation of Thai Industries vice-chairman Nava Chantanasurakon notes. But he believes the price gap will not be large, recalling that steel prices were previously regulated by the Department of Internal Trade. Induction furnace technology is no longer accepted in several countries, including China and Malaysia, he adds.
“I hope more [ASEAN] countries will follow this soon,” a Jakarta EAF mill manager tells Kallanish. EAF mills in Indonesia and Philippines have voiced concerns that induction furnace mills operating in their home countries lack proper governmental controls and are making inferior-quality steel (see Kallanish passim).
Source:Kallanish
