About Us | Expertise & Team

Industry Experience

My expertise isn't just theoretical - I've spent considerable time in the field, visiting steel plants and working directly with industry professionals to understand the real-world challenges and innovations in steel production.

These hands-on steelmaking experiences have given our team invaluable insights into mill modernisation, energy efficiency, and capacity enhancement. The combination of field experience and analytical expertise helps us provide more accurate consulting insights to clients.

In 2013, I undertook a consulting assignment at a downstream steel processing facility in West Africa. The plant specialised in cold rolled steel, serving regional construction and manufacturing sectors. My brief was to develop a marketing plan that would substantially increase sales volumes and enhance market position ahead of a planned sale.

The assignment involved an analysis of the plant's production capabilities, regional market dynamics, and competitive positioning within the West African steel sector.

• Working closely with the management team, I identified untapped market segments and developed targeted sales strategies for key product lines.
• The resulting marketing plan successfully drove significant volume growth over the following 18 months.
• This proved instrumental in enhancing the value of the company.

Beyond operational assessments of existing facilities, I have extensive experience evaluating greenfield steel project opportunities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. This work involves site selection analysis, infrastructure assessment, raw material logistics, market demand evaluation, and financial modelling for new steel production facilities.

This Nigerian feasibility study was conducted by a team of four MCI steel experts.

• We were helping the client secure debt funding from one of the big four US investment banks.
• Our Consultants reviewed the terrain, the access and utility infrastructure, and the proximity of the site to raw materials and to its steel markets.
• We also assessed the market, technical, environmental and financial viability of the investment.
• The plant was constructed and became fully operational within 30 months.

In 2017, we were invited to do a performance improvement assignment at an integrated steel plant in Egypt. The facility operated blast furnace ironmaking and basic oxygen steelmaking with downstream rolling operations. My brief was to assess operational efficiency, identify bottlenecks in the production process, and develop recommendations for performance enhancement across the value chain.

The assignment involved comprehensive technical evaluation of melting, casting, and rolling operations, combined with analysis of production costs, energy efficiency, as well as throughput and purchasing optimisation opportunities.

• Working alongside plant management and technical staff, we conducted detailed assessments of furnace operations, rolling mill performance, and quality control systems.
• The resulting turnaround plan identified specific operational improvements that enhanced productivity and reduced unit costs.
• This project demonstrated the value of hands-on technical expertise in driving measurable performance gains at integrated steel facilities.

My field research across West Africa has included assessments of scrap steel markets, a critical input for the region's growing steel recycling sector. During this 2013 market study in Benin, I evaluated scrap quality grades, prevailing price structures, and volume availability in Cotonou - the country's primary commercial hub and port city.

• The assessment covered multiple scrapyard facilities to understand local sourcing capabilities and quality (especially residual content).
• Scrapyard operators proved remarkably open to discussing selling prices, quality specifications, and purchasing terms - providing valuable market intelligence for investment feasibility analysis.
• This work informed broader market scoping studies across Benin and Senegal for a private sector client evaluating steel investment opportunities.
• Understanding scrap availability and pricing dynamics is essential for feasibility analysis of electric arc furnace-based steel production in emerging markets.

A consultant colleague on a 2024 assignment at a leading South American flat steel producer. The client was a multilateral development bank. The project involved steel market and operational assessments.

Field visits of this kind are an essential component of high-quality steel industry consulting. Meeting plant management and technical teams in person enables a depth of understanding that desk-based analysis cannot replicate. Direct observation of steelmaking operations — from raw material handling through to finished product dispatch — provides critical context for market and investment assessments.

Conversations with commercial and operational personnel on the plant floor often reveal strategic insights and operational realities that do not appear in financial statements or published data. For multilateral development bank assignments in particular, where the stakes of investment decisions are high, this ground-level intelligence is invaluable. It is this combination of field experience and analytical rigour that underpins the quality of MCI's advisory work.

I actively participate in international governance forums such as the OECD Steel Committee, providing insights into global steel trade dynamics, investment trends, and structural transformation challenges. I also work directly with multilateral development banks — including the EBRD — on steel sector advisory and due diligence assignments. In the UK, I provide direct advisory input to government, including parliamentary briefings on strategic steel industry policy at the Houses of Parliament, Westminster.