Corus strengthens UK steel industry with £185 million investment at Port Talbot

Corus, the European arm of Tata Steel yesterday said that it will invest £185 million to rebuild a blast furnace at Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales, a move that will secure the British steel industry.

With the steel industry in Europe showing signs of recovery after facing the worst decline since World War II, Corus, which was acquired by Tata Steel for $12 billion in 2007, has announced its second investment in the UK this week.

Corus, Europe's second-largest steel maker, said that it would rebuild one of the two blast furnaces at the Port Talbot steelworks starting July 2012, which will raise its capacity by up to 400,000 tonnes per year.

This investment is designed to enhance the life of Port Talbot steelworks for 20 years and position the facility as a producer of high-quality strip products on a global scale at an internationally competitive cost.
 
The furnace's energy efficiency and productivity will also be improved, Corus said.  Following this project and the rebuilding a few years ago of the No 5 blast furnace, Port Talbot will be equipped with two world-class iron making facilities, it said.

Corus employs some 7,000 people in Wales, around 5,000 of whom are employed in the integrated steelworks business Corus Strip Products UK, based at Port Talbot steelworks and also at the Llanwern steelworks in Newport, South Wales. 

Corus Strip Products produces strip products for diverse markets in the construction, automotive, packaging, appliance and other sectors and has the annual capacity to produce some 5 million tonnes of steel.