The next-generation steel – called Celsius® 420 – has been developed primarily for use in demanding building projects.

Significant weight saving gains from its use will allow contractors to use smaller foundations and fewer temporary structures, helping to cut construction time and costs on site.

Henrik Adam, Tata Steel’s chief commercial officer in Europe, said: “In Celsius® 420 we’re bringing to market an entirely new range of hot-finished hollow structural sections that we think is in a class of its own.”

The new steel will enables structural engineers to reduce the weight of the structural hollow sections they use by 17%. The new steel can be welded much more easily.

The new range of circular, square, rectangular and elliptical hollow sections entered production late last year and is currently undergoing customer trials.

The sections are made from strip produced at Tata Steel’s plants in south Wales, which is formed into hot-finished tubes at the company’s Hartlepool and Corby mills in the UK.