British Steel have announced a massive £80m investment in their Scunthorpe site that will protect jobs, introduce new products and make the site greener.
Cllr Richard Hannigan, deputy leader of North Lincolnshire Council, welcomed the investment and said it was a vote of confidence in the economy of North Lincolnshire and the highly skilled staff working in Scunthorpe.
“Today’s announcement is great news for the people of North Lincolnshire. This major investment will help the company move to new markets with new products and enhance their supply of world-class steel in this country and across the world.
“It is also part of the company’s plans to reduce their impact on the environment with investment in new state-of-the-art technology and innovative solutions to reduce waste and carbon emissions.
“The council continues to work with British Steel and other local companies to improve the economy to bring new and protect existing jobs, and move forward with our Green Futures environmental agenda.”
The bulk of the investment – £48 million – is financing the installation of a new billet caster at Scunthorpe site.
At the same time, Scunthorpe Rod Mill is being given a £32 million upgrade while further investments are being made at FN Steel, British Steel’s sister company in the Netherlands.
The new billet caster, which will manufacture lengths of semi-finished steel known as billets, is being installed by Danieli and is expected to be commissioned at the end of the year.
Richard Longbottom, Technical Manager, Steelmaking Development, said: “The new caster will produce billets of an even higher standard, with much better internal and surface qualities.
“We’ll also have a broader product range, enabling us to become more competitive and expand our offering to customers.”
