AS shellshocked Teesside steelworkers face up to SSI UK’s devastating demise, the attention turns to the company’s plant and hopes production can start again.

Mothballing at the Redcar site means steelmaking has officially stopped.

The previous pause in work, brought by market declines and cash woes, is now a permanent break.

But what does mothballing actually mean?

Essentially, it is the process where a company’s use of equipment or a building for work ends.

Mothballing is the term used to refer to the maintenance work that goes on to keep a site in a suitable enough condition so it can be used again, be it by its owner or a new buyer.

However, for SSI’s base, it is an all too familiar tale.

When former owner Corus saw its Redcar Teesside Cast Products plant suffer from lower demand and the loss of orders, the plant was mothballed and the blast furnace eventually turned off.

Video: BBC News

SSI’s fairytale arrival to revitalise the plant is well documented, so there is potential scope it could happen again.

But the process isn’t cheap, and the Community union has already raised questions SSI can do it properly, saying the failure to look after assets sufficiently could leave a bill stretching into millions of pounds.

Video: BBC News

Tom Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, has echoed the point.

He added: “The steel industry on Teesside has proved it’s resilience in the past.

“However, the Government must now step in to ensure any mothball process is done properly to safeguard against any shortfalls which SSI may have, and to ensure the site is in a suitable condition to be used again.”