Mothballed Welsh rebar mill re-opens

Aaron Morby 10 years ago
Share

A Welsh steel rod and coil supplier mothballed over two years ago has resumed production today, securing 150 jobs.

Liberty Steel in Newport will hot roll steel producing products that are re-engineered for use in construction.

International steel and metals group Liberty House bought the works from Mir Steel in 2013 and kept workers on half pay while waiting for market conditions to improve.

The steel works is predicted to produce 50,000 tonnes of steel for the UK market and also plans to increase the production to 100,000 per month for export.

Liberty group managing director Sanjeev Gupta said: “We intend to buck the recent trend in the UK steel industry.

“The UK has the richest history in steel production in the world and production is viable here – what is needed is a lean, productive operation which is also agile and flexible and one that is able to adapt quickly to changes in the market.”

In recent years the rebar market has transformed as cheaper Chinese steel was sucked into the recovering UK construction market.

The positive news came as ministers, steel companies, unions and trade bodies met in Rotherham today to discuss the steel industry crisis.

The industry has been hit by global overcapacity and reduced demand in steel, seeing steel prices slump by nearly a third.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who will be chairing the summit, said: “There is no magic bullet and we can’t change the price of steel, but we can forensically work through all of the challenges we know the industry is facing to see what solutions there might be.”

Latest news

80 energy projects unlocked as Ofgem backs grid expansion

£24bn energy networks deal gets green light from regulator
11 hours ago

Pinewood submits £1bn data centre plan

Studio giant adds green and learning spaces to tech hub blueprint
12 hours ago

Record results after TClarke goes private

Britain's biggest M&E contractor flourishes after de-listing
12 hours ago

Dalkia lands £200m nuclear maintenance deal

1,000 nuclear FM staff to join M&E contractor
11 hours ago

Construction comeback to outpace wider economy

Arcadis forecast fueled by spending review optimism
1 day ago

First steel goes up on giant car battery site

Severfield gets to work on McAlpine Somerset site
1 day ago

Permasteelisa wins cladding deal on Bovis city tower

Facade specialist lands package at 60 Gracechurch Street
11 hours ago

Fox buys recycled asphalt specialist Fisher

Acquisition adds major recycled asphalt capacity in north west
1 day ago

Major Building Safety Regulator shake-up to end tower delays

HSE stripped of control and top fire chiefs brought in to fast-track stalled schemes
1 day ago

Hinkley trio sign Sizewell civils deal

Balfour,Bouygues and Laing O'Rourke form Civil Works Alliance for new power station
1 day ago

£3.9bn data centre plan for Ravenscraig steelworks

Green energy to power massive new steel to silicon AI campus
2 days ago

Breakthrough on HS2’s second longest tunnel

8.4 mile Northolt to Old Oak Common drive completes
2 days ago

Neilcott on fast-track to debt-free employee ownership

£22.5m loan nearly paid down after big profit year
1 day ago

TfL kicks off race for £700m Tube station upgrade

South Kensington and Elephant & Castle top the pipeline list
2 days ago

Corbyn Plant Hire fleet goes under the hammer

Kit to be sold off by sister firm to collapsed groundworks contractor
1 day ago

Government wields procurement stick on late payment

New rules would block slow payers from bidding on big public jobs
4 days ago

Hercules buys power line labour firm for £15.7m

Labour supply specialist snaps up Advantage NRG to tap booming electricity upgrade market
4 days ago

Universal bid to fast-track planning for theme park

Entertainment giant eyes 2026 start at Bedford site
5 days ago

Developer Breck to transform former Ibstock brick factory

Ravenhead works to become 300-home development
4 days ago

SP Energy Networks awards contracts worth £1.4bn

First round of awards under £5.4bn national electricity grid upgrade programme
5 days ago

Travelodge to convert Liverpool Street office building

Office-to-hotel conversion in City of London
4 days ago

Plans lodged for 1m sq ft City of London office

Barbican landmark building will reuse 40% of existing structure
5 days ago

PTSG acquires roofing specialist HD Sharman Group

Premier Technical Services Group expands building maintenance division
5 days ago

Balfour Beatty lands £833m carbon capture power plant job

Work to start later this year on Teesside carbon capture gas-fired power station
5 days ago

Svella agrees deal to save Cubby Construction

Solvent purchase set to save 214 jobs and protect supply chain
5 days ago

J Coffey holds line on margins despite £52m revenue slide

Pre-tax profit down 14% but firm eyes strong pipeline to bounce back
5 days ago

Consultants called up for £2.3bn NHS SBS panel reboot

Market asked for views ahead of next-gen procurement rollout
5 days ago

Hochtief launches new UK data centre division

German business model to be introduced for UK construction
6 days ago

Construction skills body launches with 100,000 worker target

Industry to work closer with Jobcentres to find new talent
5 days ago

Kier lands £42m Midlothian school and community hub

Contractor strengthens presence in Scotland with big education job
5 days ago