Manufacturing & Supply Chain

British Steel’s new billet caster, which is among £330 million worth of investments Jingye has made in the UK business since acquiring it 3 years ago, is scheduled to be commissioned this Spring. The new caster will manufacture lengths of semi-finished steel – known as billets – with enhanced internal and surface qualities, enabling British Steel to become more competitive and expand its offering to customers.

The £54 million project is the largest single investment Jingye has made since purchasing British Steel in 2020. Other significant investments in this period include:

• A £26 million Special Profiles Mast Service Centre – when it opens at British Steel’s Skinningrove site later this year, it will enable the company to make and process an extended range of value-added profiles for the forklift industry;
• £27 million investment in 3 new cranes at British Steel’s port facility, Immingham Bulk Terminal. The new machinery uses the latest technical advances in dig depth optimisation to ensure continuous peak performance;
• £14.6 million investment to enhance British Steel’s energy operations;
• IT systems upgrade – scheduled to go live in March, this multi-million-pound investment will ensure the company’s staff, customers and suppliers benefit from the latest information technology.

British Steel’s investment strategy is aligned to its decarbonisation plans, which will see the company embrace new technology and ways of working to help its drive to reduce emissions and support clean growth.

Xifeng Han, British Steel’s CEO, said: “Steel is vital to modern economies and with demand expected to grow over the coming decades, British Steel has a vital role to play in ensuring the UK has its own supply of high-quality steel. To make sure we can deliver the steel Britain requires, we’re undergoing the biggest transformation in our 130-year history.

“To support the journey to net zero, our owners, Jingye, have invested £330 million in capital projects during their first 3 years of ownership and they continue to invest unprecedented sums of money in British Steel.

“Jingye is committed to our long-term future but we also require the UK Government to provide the necessary support, policies and frameworks to back our drive to become a clean, green and sustainable company. We’re continuing formal talks with the government about decarbonisation, along with the global challenges we currently face. The government understands the significant impact the economic slowdown, rising inflation and exceptionally high energy and carbon prices are having on businesses like ours, particularly during such a key period in our transformation.

“British Steel can play a significant role in the UK’s economic recovery and we look forward to working with the government and to making the home-made steel Britain needs for generations to come.”