Our editorial team met with Mr Raymond Vassallo, chairperson of JMV Group, a family-owned business based in Zebbug, which owns amongst others JM Vassallo Vibro Steel Ltd.
The company, which is now in its third generation of management, was started by the late Mr. John Mary Vassallo, over 50 years ago, in 1969 and nowadays employs over 45 employees in different areas of its business operations.
While they are one of the market leaders in construction steel products, the company also owns two retail outlets dedicated to the well-renowned Isomat and Kerakoll brands, offering complete building solutions.
The editorial team had the opportunity to discuss various topics during the site visit, where, together with a technical entourage we were shown various cutting and bending lines that process steel reinforcement from straight bars or directly from coils.
“ The high level of health and safety standards was immediately noticeable, not only in terms of personal protective equipment, but also in the frequent routine checks that are carried out”
It was explained that all operations carry traceability in conformity to ISO Certification, which enables them to trace the original source of raw materials used and the respective mill heat number. It was also explained that steel reinforcement bars carry identification marks at every 50cm intervals along the bar which represent the country of origin and the mill number.
JMV also process all orders through professional enterprise resource planning software, which allows the optimisation of production on various machinery, utilising a barcoding and labelling system to track each and every process from manufacturing to delivery in real-time.
Although the company is geared towards high-volume production, they also have a set-up for custom orders, —both for steel mesh and structural beams. JMV are the only manufacturer of electro-welded steel reinforcing mesh in Malta which is produced from hot rolled wire, with Quality Certification to Grade B500C satisfying anti-seismic properties.
A 2400 square meter warehouse holds the steel sections and beams. There is also a 40-metre line for the processing, cutting and drilling of steel sections. All processing of steel sections is carried out under Certification of EN 1090 offering a CE Marked product.
Towards the end of our visit, our team also visited the in-house testing laboratory from which the company issues quality assurance certification for all its processed steel, in order to be in line with the various quality standards, with the impressive ability to also test 32mm rods with over 60 tons of force. This laboratory is the only one of its kind in the industry in Malta.
Although this laboratory was visited towards the end of our visit, in reality, the structure was the first one that we could note on the premises, a sign of pure commitment towards their clients, where through professional partnerships, they consistently managed to supply the local construction industry with efficiency and the highest quality possible to fulfil orders for a wide variety of projects.
