GENERAL NEWS
UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer( centre), meeting British Steel employees.
UK Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, toured British Steel operations in April.
British Steel to keep blast furnaces running
Following successful measures to secure a stable supply of raw materials to its two blast furnaces, British Steel confirmed on 22 April 2025 that it will end the ongoing consultation on redundancies that was initiated by the previous management.
The announcement came after the company officially withdrew the HR1 consultation form that it had submitted to the UK Department of Business and Trade on 27 March 2025. The move is part of ongoing efforts to stabilise British Steel’ s blast furnace production following the UK government’ s passing of the Steel Special Measures Act on 12 April 2025.
The UK’ s Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, requested the recall of Parliament to vote on emergency legislation to prevent the blast furnaces being shut down. The legislation gives the UK government power to direct the company’ s board and workforce, ensure that they get paid and order the raw materials to keep the blast furnace running. Funding for the site will come from the UK government’ s £ 2.5bn steel fund, to help rebuild the industry over the next five years.
British Steel is the UK’ s only manufacturer of rail and large constructional sections. It manufactures over 1,450 different specifications of steel that is rolled into wire rod, sections, special profiles, rail, billet, bloom and slab. It is also one of the leading steel manufacturers in Europe, producing around three million tonnes of steel products every year. The company was bought by Chinese multi-industrial company, Jingye Group, on 9 March 2020.
British Steel has worked with officials from government and others across the industry to secure a stable supply of raw materials to both its blast furnaces for the short term. This means that the previously planned‘ Salamander Tap’ of one blast furnace, Queen Bess, will no longer go ahead. All operations at British Steel are being maintained, including Scunthorpe Rod Mill.
UK Business and Trade Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has confirmed the appointment of Allan Bell, as interim Chief Executive Officer, and Lisa Coulson as interim Chief Commercial Officer, with immediate effect. They are both long-term employees of British Steel.
Lisa Coulson, interim Chief Commercial Officer, British Steel, commented:“ This has been a difficult and worrying time for British Steel staff and their families. I can however confirm that we are closing the redundancy consultation without action.
“ Since the Government passed its legislation, we have been working day and night to ensure that we are able to stabilise our operations. The work done to secure the raw materials we need for both Queen Anne and Queen Bess blast furnaces means that we are able to run both continuously,” she concluded. n
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:// britishsteel. co. uk
Bruderer completes manufacturing centre
Bruderer, a leading manufacturer of precision high-speed presses, has reinforced its commitment to the future of UK manufacturing by investing heavily in a new 10,000- square-metre“ centre of manufacturing excellence” in Telford( UK).
Bruderer UK is a specialist in precision stamping technology and turnkey solutions. The company has moved its entire operation from its base in Luton to the modern facility in Hortonwood( UK), which offers a competence centre for live demonstrations of new presses, fully certified pre-owned machines and fully integrated turnkey solutions.
“ For the first time in our 57-year history, Bruderer UK will have a purpose-built location to give our customers first-hand insight into our latest technology, ancillary equipment
Bruderer UK’ s new factory building. The workshop at Bruderer UK’ s new factory.
( including servo feeders and decoilers) and multi-progression press tool-proving systems. The move has also increased our direct workforce to 14,” confirmed the company.
The architectural concept focused on designing a bespoke building with a modern clean look that met its operational requirements and reflects its branding as well as its Swiss roots. The building features the latest thermal management technology, air source heat pumps and roof-mounted photovoltaic panels, working together to maximise energy efficiency and reduce
reliance on conventional power sources. The showroom has been designed to showcase up to two turnkey lines, including servo feeders and decoilers.
Adrian Haller, Bruderer UK’ s managing director, used the completion of the new factory to call upon the UK government to reverse recent tax changes and deliver a fully funded Industrial Strategy to support UK SMEs. n
www. bruderer. co. uk
ISMR May 2025 | ismr. net | 7