British Steel has announced a £50m upgrade to its Scunthorpe site, which makes wire rod for products ranging from paper clips to car suspension springs.
The investment, the biggest at the site in a decade, will be accompanied by a £40m boost for other capital expenditure next year.
British Steel told The Yorkshire Post that the investment “underlines our commitment to building a sustainable future for our wire rod business, our employees and our customers”.
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The company revealed its plans after confirming that a technical failure last year dragged down its annual profits by more than half, to £21m. Its annual revenue increased by 17%, however, to stand at £1.4bn
The new British Steel was created two years ago when investment firm Greybull Capital bought Tata Steel’s struggling European Long Products division for a nominal £1 and renamed the firm in honour of the former nationalised company.
In addition to Scunthorpe, it operates factories in Teesside, Skinningrove and elsewhere in Europe, employing about 5,000 people, of which 1,000 have been recruited in the past two years.
Union official Paul McBean said: “While we still have a long way to go, investments of this scale – and the ongoing commitment to capital expenditure – demonstrate the great optimism flowing through this company.”
British Steel said it would work with the government to ensure Donald Trump’s new steel tariffs did not disrupt trade.
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