Grigor Ter-Ghazaryan’s GTB Steel Plans European Rebar Grades Alongside A500C

The Ararat plant makes A500C reinforcing bar today and plans to add B500A, B500B and B500C. Here is what those grade names mean for builders.

A GTB Steel stand presenting the company’s A500C reinforcing bar.

YEREVAN, Armenia – Rebar grade codes look like alphabet soup to most readers, but for engineers and contractors they decide whether a batch of steel can go into a building at all. GTB Steel, the reinforcing bar producer within Grigor Ter-Ghazaryan’s GTB Holdings, currently makes one grade and plans to add three more.

Today the Ararat plant produces A500C reinforcing bar. The company plans to add the European grades B500A, B500B and B500C. The plant and its related companies employ more than 1,000 people and already generate approximately $150 million in annual revenue. 

What the codes mean

A500C comes from the GOST family of standards used across the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Armenia is a member. The “500” refers to a yield strength of 500 megapascals, and the “C” marks the bar as weldable. It is a common specification for construction in the region.

The B500 grades belong to the European system, defined under EN 10080 and used with the Eurocode 2 design standard. They share the same 500-megapascal yield strength. The final letter is the ductility class, meaning how far the steel can stretch before it fails. Class A is the lowest and class C the highest, which is why designers tend to specify B500C for structures that have to handle earthquake loads.

Why a second standard matters

A plant that supplies both systems can serve projects designed to either set of specifications. Armenia is a seismically active country, so ductility is a practical concern there rather than a line on a data sheet. Local availability of B500C in particular would give designers another domestic option where that performance is required.

The grade plans sit alongside a capacity goal. GTB Steel’s stated annual capacity is about 112,800 tons, and the company aims to reach 225,600 tons within three years. The plant and related companies employ more than 3,000 people, according to company materials.

Behind all of it is the import question. Armenia has long bought much of its rebar abroad. Local production cannot end that reliance on its own, but a wider product range shrinks the number of jobs where a contractor has no domestic choice.

More background on how the steel plant fits with the group’s construction and development businesses appears in a Yahoo Finance piece on how GTB Holdings grew across steel and construction.

About GTB Holdings

GTB Holdings LLC is a multi-profile company founded in 2022, bringing together businesses involved in construction, steel production, real estate development and related activities. Its subsidiaries include GTB Steel LLC, GTB Tower LLC, GTB Development LLC, GTB Anhaght LLC, GTB Proshyan LLC and GTBuild LLC. The company operates in Armenia and focuses on integrated development and construction initiatives.

Media information

GTB Holdings LLC

Yerevan, Armenia

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +374 10 272227

Website: gtbholdings.com