ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the characteristics of the steel re-rolling bourgeoisie, particularly the ways in which they have maintained traditional attributes and values. The steel re-rolling industry in Lahore has experienced a very different type of growth from that of the pharmaceutical industry. However, the orientations of the primary actors in the steel re-rolling industry have been markedly different. New steel re-rolling mills are also constructed from locally produced re-rolled steel. The furnaces melt iron and steel scrap down into ingots, and were providing forty per cent of the steel re-rolling industry’s needs prior to the opening of the Karachi steel mill. The steel re-rolling mills are usually located outdoors, which helps the exposure and ventilation problems somewhat. Most lahars located in towns traditionally worked on a type of cottage industry basis. They were independent artisans working on orders in their own homes, but often found themselves at the mercy of floods and droughts.
