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Tata Steel Europe Invests in Technology for South Yorkshire Steel

11/30/2010 - Tata Steel Europe (formerly Corus) is investing £6.5 million in new high-tech equipment at its Stocksbridge plant, South Yorkshire, to increase production of aerospace steels. The company will install two vacuum arc remelt furnaces and specialist testing equipment.

Tata Steel Europe (formerly Corus) is investing £6.5 million in new high-tech equipment at its Stocksbridge plant, South Yorkshire, to increase production of aerospace steels.
 
The company will install two vacuum arc remelt (VAR) furnaces and specialist testing equipment to allow it to make more special steels for the aerospace industry. The new equipment reportedly will boost Tata Steel’s output of these steels by 30% and will lead to about 10 new jobs.
  
Peter Hogg, General Manager of Tata Steel Specialty, said: “As the demand for aerospace steel increases, it’s vital we have the ability to increase our production of this highly technical and demanding product, which is used in aircraft landing gear, engines, wings, and other safety-critical components.
 
“We have 60 years’ experience of making steel for aircraft. As well as expanding to meet the needs of our existing customers in established markets like North America, we want to win more orders in emerging markets like China and India.”
 
The two new VAR furnaces will be installed alongside seven existing VAR furnaces and two electroslag remelt (ESR) furnaces at the Stocksbridge plant. The new furnaces are expected to be operational by winter 2011/12.
 
Additional ultrasonic and mechanical testing equipment will also be installed in Stocksbridge over the coming months to ensure exacting quality standards continue to be met.
 
The steel is manufactured at the company’s Rotherham site before undergoing further refining at the Stocksbridge plant to improve the quality.
 
Tata Steel Europe (formerly Corus) is Europe's second largest steel producer. With main steelmaking operations in the U.K. and the Netherlands, the company supplies steel and related services to the construction, automotive, packaging, material handling, and other demanding markets worldwide. It is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, one of the world’s top 10 steel producers. The combined group has an aggregate crude steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and approximately 80,000 employees across four continents.