Forging press investment will help power global industry
mercredi, 28 avril 2010
A £140m UK government backed deal will see Sheffield Forgemasters secure a pivotal role in the development of next generation nuclear power stations.
The finance package will fund the creation of a 15,000 tonne forging press at the historic firm’s Sheffield headquarters.
The press will have the capability to produce enormous ‘ultra-large’ forgings such as pressure vessel and steam generator components, which sit at the heart of modern nuclear power plants, and will play a vital role in manufacturing components for power plants built over the next decade.
Sheffield Forgemaster will be one of only a handful of companies in the world capable of providing such services.
The UK government provide up to £80m in loans with US nuclear power reactor Westinghouse expected to provide around £40m in new orders. The rest of the cash will come from banks and private equity.
The investment is being hailed as “brilliant news” for the civil nuclear supply chain in Britain and looks set to create 400 new jobs.
In addition, the UK government has also announced the creation of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, which will be based in South Yorkshire. The centre will help build on the country’s nuclear skills base and promote opportunities to engineering companies.
Mike Tynan, chief executive of Westinghouse UK, said “This announcement is yet another tangible indicator that new nuclear build is becoming a reality for the UK and around the world.
"I hope it will send a strong signal to other UK companies who may be considering the wide range of opportunities offered by the nuclear industry.”
Yorkshire is home to more than 5,600 advanced engineering and materials companies employing more than 114,000 people and generating in excess of £4.9bn a year for the region’s economy.
The metals industry generates £1.3bn of gross value added (GVA) for the region and includes firms such as Outokumpu, Alvac, and Castings Technology International – Europe’s leading facility for titanium castings.
Sheffield Forgemasters is the world’s largest independently owned forgemaster specialising in a broad range of heavy steel forgings and steel castings.
During its 200 year history is has produced some of the largest bespoke engineered products in the world and has the capacity for steel castings of up to 350 tonnes and steel forgings of up to 200 tonnes.