A STEELMAKER has submitted plans for a £26m upgrade to one of its North East sites which bosses have described as their "biggest investment in more than 30 years".

British Steel have unveiled plans for a new service centre at Skinningrove, Redcar, which the company hopes will "ensure we remain a leading global manufacturer".

If plans are approved, building work is due to start later this year with commissioning expected to begin in August 2023.

The new site will enable the company to make and process what they describe as an "extended range of value-added profiles for the forklift industry".

This will include work in cut-to-length lines, product milling, machining and warehousing operations.

David Hogg, Special Profiles Plant Manager, said: “These plans represent the biggest single investment in our Special Profiles business for more than 30 years and will ensure we remain a leading global manufacturer.

“If our plans are approved, we hope to start building works later this year with commissioning expected to start in August 2023.”

The company's special Profiles business makes components for a range of sectors including the forklift and earthmoving industries.

Read more: British Steel invests £26m at North East site REPLACING Darlington facility

The plans have now been submitted to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council for approval.

They were designed by Building Design Northern (BDN Ltd) and have received  support from British Steel’s customers.

David Waine, British Steel’s Commercial Director for Special Profiles, said: “Since we announced the investment we have had nothing but positive feedback from current and prospective new customers.

“The plans will enable us to manufacture world-class products to the tightest of tolerances. They will also enable us to explore new growth opportunities for although our primary product offering would be for forklift mast production, we expect to be able to expand this to include other product applications too.”

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Richard Marsden, Managing Director of BDN, said: “The continued investment by British Steel into Skinningrove will provide a huge boost to the Tees Valley’s historic steel industry and we are delighted to be working closely with the company to help bring this exciting project to life.”

The new Skinningrove facility is designed to replace the services currently offered at the company’s site in Darlington, which stores and cuts profiles to customer requirements.

The company revealed in August 2021 that it intends to offer all employees currently based at Darlington new roles to retain its workforce.

This latest scheme builds on previous investments, including the installation of a £2million world-leading surface descaling system, a high-tech product processing centre and a unique robotic identification tracking control for each profile manufactured at the Skinningrove mill.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, said: “Steelmaking is in the blood of every Teessider and I am delighted to see British Steel’s plans to expand operations at their Skinningrove plant are a step closer. This £26million investment is the company’s largest in its special profiles business for more than 30 years and will be a huge boost for the region.

“Ever since we secured a deal in 2020 to safeguard the long-term future of British Steel, I have always been confident of the firm’s commitment to our region and this investment is the perfect example of this.

“This major investment comes on the back of a recent recruitment drive which saw scores of good-quality, well paid jobs created, including 10 Manufacturing Trainees taken on - giving young people across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool the skills they need for a rewarding career with one of our most important companies.”

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