£140m deal marks huge coup for city
Funding 'could help secure future of manufacturing for 20 years'
Securing manufacturing future for next 20 years
SHEFFIELD was celebrating "a massive coup" this week after securing a long-awaited 140m deal that will see it at the forefront of global nuclear power production.
The funds will enable Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd to install a huge forging press to make ultra-large components for the next generation of nuclear power stations in the UK while also competing for orders worldwide.
As Business Secretary Lord Mandelson visited the premises yesterday to confirm an 80m Government loan, there were predictions that the economic benefits will spread across the region, helping to secure the future of local manufacturing for at least 20 years.
Forgemasters has been chasing Government support for more than a year so it can install the country's first 15,000 tonne forging press.
It completes a financial package that also includes contributions from nuclear power-plant manufacturer Westinghouse and the European Investment Bank.
Graham Honeyman, chief executive of SFIL, said: "The Government loan forms the final piece of a two-year project to finance the installation of a 15,000 tonne forging press which will place the UK at the peak of a global supply chain for civil nuclear manufacturing.
"This is a massive coup for UK manufacturing and firmly underpins the country's place at the leading edge of engineering technology.
"There are other companies in the world looking to enter the market for these large-scale components, but none will be able to achieve production in the same timescales as SFIL, partly due to the lengthy time it takes to gain international accreditation to manufacture for the nuclear industry."
The demand for heavy nuclear forgings is set to more than triple by 2020, and Mr Honeyman said SFIL will push through its plans to make major castings and forgings within the next three years.
Hundreds more jobs are expected at Brightside Lane, and there is a predicted jobs spin-off as suppliers and customers increase their involvement with the Sheffield company.
Kevin Parkin, managing director of Sheffield-based DavyMarkham, one of the potential suppliers of major components for new civil nuclear power plants, said: "It's good news for the youth of the region and their parents. It secures the future of local manufacturing for at least 20 years.
"All the companies that aspire to become suppliers to the nuclear industry will get a part, irrespective of whether they are large or small and there will be a knock-on effect through other service industries. Just about everyone in the city will benefit from it."
Sheffield Central MP Richard Caborn, who has been working on the deal for three years, said: "It's fantastic news. I started here as an apprentice at the age of 15 and have now come back to Forgemasters to help make the announcement. After 27 years as an MP, what better swansong could there be?
"This really is a big vote of confidence in Forgemasters and Sheffield and a great opportunity to be at the front of the nuclear supply chain."
Yesterday's announcement cements Sheffield's place at the heart of the global nuclear power revolution.
Last December Lord Mandelson revealed that the region was to become home to a 25m Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and had been earmarked for a new Rolls-Royce factory, focused on nuclear energy.
Meanwhile, the latest Forgemasters' success follows the firm's signing of a 30m agreement to oversee the development of power generation forgings with Indian state run power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals, mainly serving India's rapidly growing domestic market for turbine and power generation products.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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