Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is the material most of the catalogue is built on: flat products, long products and hollow sections in the grades Saudi projects actually specify, held in a working stock so a sheet, pipe or bar is cut, finished and delivered from one place.

Most enquiries fall into a handful of grades. 201 is the economical choice for dry indoor work. 304 covers the majority of architectural and food-contact jobs. 316 and 316L add molybdenum for coastal air, pool halls and process plant. The grade pages carry the chemistry, mechanical values and densities.

What the stainless steel range covers

• Sheet and plate in cold-rolled 2B and hot-rolled No.1, plus the decorative surfaces in the finishes library.
• Coil, slit to width on the slitting line or cut to length on the coil-cutting line.
• Round, square and rectangular pipe and tube, welded and solid-drawn, in the common wall thicknesses.
• Round, flat, square and hexagonal bar, angle and channel.

Choosing the grade for the Saudi climate

The Kingdom is not one climate. Riyadh is dry and dusty, while Jeddah and Dammam carry salt in the air all year. 304 versus 316 explains where the boundary sits, and the note on 304 rusting on the coast shows what tea staining looks like and how to stop it.

Finishes and processing before delivery

Sheet can leave with a hairline, mirror, champagne brushed or hammered surface, and the guide to 2B, BA, No.4, hairline and mirror explains what each name means on a specification sheet.

Laser cutting handles sheet and plate profiles, bending folds panels and brackets, and polishing restores the finish after fabrication.

What a good enquiry contains

• Grade, form and thickness, or the drawing that fixes them.
• Surface finish, and whether a protective film is required.
• Quantity by piece and by weight.
• Whether a mill test certificate is needed, and which type.

The stainless steel weight calculator turns dimensions into theoretical kilograms before you send the enquiry, and the quotation form accepts drawings and cut lists directly.

Common questions

Which grade should I use outdoors in Saudi Arabia?

Inland, 304 in a brushed or mirror finish performs well when it is washed occasionally. Near the Red Sea or the Gulf, or close to a desalination or chemical plant, 316 or 316L is the safer specification because the added molybdenum resists chloride pitting.

Can the sheet be cut to size before delivery?

Yes. Sheet, plate and coil are cut to length, slit to width or laser cut to a profile before they leave the works. Send the cut list or drawing with the enquiry and the quotation covers the finished pieces.

Do you supply a mill test certificate?

Yes, on request. Most projects ask for a 3.1 certificate, which reports the heat chemistry and mechanical results from the producing mill. The article on 3.1 versus 3.2 certificates explains when a third-party 3.2 document is worth the extra lead time.

How do I work out the weight of what I need?

Use the weight calculators on the site. They apply the grade density to the dimensions you enter and return a theoretical weight. Delivered weight varies with thickness within the mill allowance, which the note on theoretical versus actual weight explains.