MMD

MMD is a privately-owned company with deep historical and entrepreneurial roots in Africa. Formed in 2006, MMD is the leading manufacturer of TMT® rebars, high-quality thermo mechanically-treated steel reinforcement bars, and merchant bars used to construct residential, commercial, industrial, and civil structures. Mohan Manji Dhrolia (MMD) is the founder of the company. His humble beginnings date back to 1961 when he moved to Zaire, Africa, from a small village in India, with a simple dream to build a better life for his family. His strong work ethic, values and philosophies would become the driving force behind how the family approached life and work. Mr. Dhrolia successfully ventured into the world of commodity trading. His retirement in the mid-1970s paved the way for the family to explore other business ventures including property development, hospitality and then steel manufacturing in Ethiopia in 2005. This was the family's first venture into the steel industry equipped with knowledge and a vision to procure raw materials, localize the commodity and support the native economy. Despite the growing need for steel as a basic commodity for the construction industry in Africa, exporting scrap metal and importing the finished product, a popular venture in other countries at the time, was not an attractive venture for MMD. Instead, the company embraced an opportunity to procure and sell raw materials locally, systematically maintaining revenues within each region. MMD continued to foray deeper into the steel business during the following decade, learning to replicate a steel manufacturing model for other countries. Despite political, social, and technical setbacks, the family's hard work, determination, and patience paid off. A network of steel manufacturing operations across sub-Saharan Africa, were set up in the DRC, Angola, Rwanda, Ghana, Mali, Gabon, Burkina Faso and Senegal. MMD also gained a deep understanding of the business, in preparation to meet a growing demand for hot rolled steel products and merchant bars. Fully operational by June 2007, an increasing presence in major markets, and a systematic integration into local markets, officially launched MMD's commercial production of TMT® rebars and merchant bars in Africa.