British Steel Dream

Sanjeev Gupta, head of the Liberty Steel group, which took over part of Tata Steel's UK assets, announced an increase in steel production to 5 million tonnes over the next five years. He is pinning his hopes on Mel Wilde, who will lead part of the Liberty House steel group from January.

The special steels plant in Rotherham will help in part. It is currently owned by Tata Steel, but Liberty is in talks to acquire it and Gupta announced that it could happen at the end of February. The price is £ 100 million. Rotherham currently produces 250,000. tons of steel, but its capacity reaches 1.3 million tons.

Gupta also announced the construction of two new kilns in Scotland and the Midland region. He believes that the model for cost-effective production should be based on local supplies of scrap metal and renewable energy sources instead of importing expensive raw materials. “In the UK, the consumption of recycled products is lower than in other developed countries. Therefore, the gap in the market can be exploited, ”Gupta said.

Liberty House announced that Mel Wilde, with 35 years of industry experience, will lead the steel segment. “He knows all aspects of manufacturing - from ironworks to trading in steel products. He was also President of the International Steel Association and Managing Director of the $ 3 billion Trans-World Steel distribution company. "

Sanjeev Gupta said: "The strong pound and rising steel prices are major factors for the competitiveness of British Steel, which will allow the UK steel sector to slowly recover from the crisis that cost it around 5,000 jobs."