TALKS to secure the future of a steel firm employing hundreds of North-East workers are continuing, as bosses strive to avoid further job losses, it was last night claimed.

Tata Steel remains locked in discussions to navigate its European Long Products division out of choppy market waters.

The business runs the Teesside Beam Mill, at Lackenby, near Redcar, and a special profiles plant at Skinningrove, east Cleveland, providing steel for construction and heavy industry work.

However, Tata last month revealed more than 1,000 Long Products jobs in Scunthorpe and Scotland face the axe as it struggles against cheap Chinese imports, a strong pound and high electricity costs.

Its North-East bases, which employ about 700 people, have so far escaped the cull, offering the region’s steel sector some respite after thousands of jobs were lost after Redcar’s SSI UK liquidation and Caparo Industries’ Hartlepool foundry was closed, which left nearly 100 redundant.

Reports in India previously suggested Tata could dispose of Long Products as early as 2016.

However, a spokesman told The Northern Echo talks are ongoing to find a solution for the business, which it has made a standalone wholly-owned subsidiary to help attract fresh investor funding and support the buying of raw materials and selling of products.

He added: “We are still assessing all the strategic options for the Long Products European business.”

The update came on the same day the company revealed it has found new time-saving ways to cut materials, which it says will increase production.

Officials say it has changed testing methods at the Beam Mill, which includes keeping steel casts together for longer, meaning they don’t have to carry out as many tests.

Danny Clews, area manufacturing manager, said: “We are performing a test around every 63 tonnes, instead of every 43 tonnes.

“So far, on average, we’ve saved 63 cuts at the saws.

“At 30 seconds per test, it means we have increased the throughput time in the mill by nine tonnes per week, giving a projected additional 432 tonnes per year.”

The company has also revealed workers at the Beam Mill were intrinsic to ensuring operations continued after the collapse of SSI.

SSI supplied steel slab to the Beam Mill by rail, which was affected by the Thai firm’s liquidation.

However, Andy Williams, plant manager, said trains were left unable to enter the Lackenby site.

Mr Williams said control of exchange sidings was handed to DB Schenker, who managed rail access, while a locomotive was hired to transfer slabs.

He added a small number of ex-SSI staff helped with the work.

He said: “The speed and teamwork involved in restarting the operation was excellent.

“It was done in a short space of time without compromising safety and achieved the same outcome at a lower cost.”

Tata also runs the Hartlepool Pipe Mill, which employs hundreds of workers but is not part of Long Products.

Earlier this year, The Northern Echo reported how the plant will support Maersk Oil’s $4.5bn North Sea Culzean project, by delivering more than 18,000 tonnes of steel pipe.

Maersk says the development, which will include a 53km gas pipeline, could cover about five per cent of the UK’s total gas use by 2020.