Region awaits Corus steel revival on Teesside

The lifeline thrown to Corus’s mothballed Teesside Cast Products (TCP) plant has been described as a new chapter for steel making on Teesside by North East business figures and politicians.

But the optimism about the deal is tempered with caution as Teesside waits for the sale of TCP to the Thai company to be finalised.

And it could be up to six months before the workforce is back to full strength after a sale while the mothballing of the plant is reversed.

Tom Blenkinsop, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East was upbeat about the prospects of the deal going through: “I have had very positive meetings with representatives of SSI and I am confident that they are a strong, financially sound and innovative company,” he said.

“From the announcement, I am confident that this deal, when it goes through, should safeguard all or most of the jobs on site as well as for those companies in the supply chain locally.”

It is a second piece of good news for the area following the announcement earlier this month by Corus of a £31.5m manufacturing plant in the area.

Mr Blenkinsop added that following these announcements Teesside can now be seen to be “the premier site for steel-making, processing and related engineering for the UK”.

Joanne Fryett, head of member relations at the North East Chamber of Commerce said that Thai steel maker SSI’s decision to buy the plant was “extremely significant” to the long-term economic future of the region.

Mrs Fryett said: “Steelmaking is at the heart of our local economy and it was a bitter blow when the plant was mothballed. Today’s announcement is a new chapter for steelmaking on Teesside and gives hope to the highly-skilled workforce and the talented wider supply chain that this plant will once more be a major player in our economy.”

Workforce welcomes deal
Andy Williams worked at the plant for 26 years until it was mothballed. Since then he has managed to get a temporary contract working in the steel house. Today's announcement means he could have a long term future at the plant.

"Deep down I hoped we would be making steel here again," said Mr Williams "If SSI comes in and buys it, it will give not just me a career here again, but future generations.

"Everyone's in a good mood and will go out tonight and celebrate. The past six months have been very hard, everyone's been down, but now their spirits have been lifted."

Councillor George Dunning, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, said that he did not foresee any problems with the deal and revealed that he has always been “quietly confident” that a buyer would be found.

But Mr Dunning, a former steelworker who has worked at TCP, said that steel production would not resume until the first half of next year because it will take time to increase the heat of the blast furnace again.

“The demothballing process will take up to six months,” he said. “We have 500 people working there just to keep the blast furnace ticking over. So it’s not just a question of the SSI buying it and starting production straight away.”

He added that that the area must continue moves to encourage jobs in other sectors, which have included the creation of a creative industries hub and the redevelopment of the town’s seafront.
“We need to diversify away from old traditional industries, even though they are important,” he said.

Alan Clarke, chief executive of regional development agency One North East and Chairman of the Corus Response Group, said the deal was a “highly significant step towards steelmaking beginning once again on Teesside”.

“Corus are confident that the transaction, if successful, would represent a good industrial fit for Corus, the Tees Valley and SSI.

“The quality jobs that would result would provide a massive boost for the local economy which would also be boosted through the financial benefits that would flow into the supply chain.”