Tata Steel announced its transformation plans for a steel tube manufacturing site in the UK’s East Midlands on Thursday, claiming that the plans would give the company the best hope of a strong future.
Work has begun on the 150-acre Corby facility, which manufactures critical goods for everything, from sporting stadiums and landmark skyscrapers like London’s Shard to hospital beds and clean green energy projects around the world. Workers at the site make steel tube goods from steel produced at the company’s Port Talbot plant in Wales.
“Steel is and will continue to be an important part of the UK’s future decarbonization plans,” said Sandip Biswas, Chairman of Tata Steel UK Ltd.
“We need to ensure that we can make and deliver the goods that will help us move to a net-zero future right here in the UK,” he added.
Manufacturing operations on the site will be pushed closely together as part of a 25-million-pound project paid for in part, by the selling of property opened up by the changes, as well as savings from structural upgrades.
The two-year expansion project will see the construction of a single high-tech facility, as well as the relocation and upgrade of the critical rectangular hollow section (RHS) production line and the cold mill (CFM) – where many of the Corby site’s most important items are manufactured.
“The scheme is critical to securing a prosperous future for our site and future generations of steel workers.” “It will enable us to reconfigure our operations and achieve maximum operating efficiency,” said Gary Blackman, Tata Steel Corby Works Manager.
“The programme will chart a prosperous path for the Corby site and lay the groundwork for future growth,” said Coenraad Spaans, Tata Steel’s Operational Director Tubes.
According to the firm, recycling is at the heart of the renovations, with content from old concrete floors being reclaimed on-site, to help build the warehouse’s sub-base – construction on which has now begun.
Meanwhile, the relocation of the RHS and CFM processes would result in increased productivity and lower energy usage.
At the same time, Tata Steel says it will work together with development partners and local authorities to ensure that the project has the least possible effect on the regional communities.
“We are building a single site warehouse within the East Works, which will enable the closure of the South warehouse,” said Nigel Chudley, who is heading the warehouse project.
“Important work is being done to lay the groundwork for the installation of a racked warehouse solution. The team has been meeting with our builders over the past few weeks to break ground, which is the first step in a 14-week process to plan the flooring that will accommodate 18,000 tonnes of finished tube product,”added Chudley.
The new warehousing system is expected to improve on the existing system significantly, allowing the tubes operation to rotate stock more quickly and reduce stock losses.
Tata Steel is a major steel manufacturer in Europe, with steelmaking facilities in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, as well as production plants in the continent. It provides high-quality steel materials to a wide range of industries, including construction and building, automotive, manufacturing, and engineering.
With an annual crude steel production of 34 million tonnes, the Tata Steel Group is one of the world’s most globally diverse steel groups.
