Forgemasters
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| Forgemasters | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1805 |
| Location | Sheffield, UK |
Forgemasters is the name of a heavy engineering firm located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The company specialises in the production of large steel castings and forgings, as well as rolls, ingots and bar.
The company was established in 1983 from the merger of Firth Brown and British Steels River Don Works Forging operations, as a public company. Their buildings now dominate the Brightside area of East Sheffield. The company can trace its heritage back to the start of the steel industry in Sheffield in the 1700s. The firms of Vickers, Cammells, and Armstrong-Whitworth were all Nationalised to form British Steel in the 1960s.
The Company has had a chequered history due to the Cyclical demand for specialist forgings & castings.
The Company specialises in forged and cast parts for suppliers to the; Engineering, Nuclear, Oil, Petrochemical, and Process, Industries world wide.
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[edit] Iraq Supergun Scandal
On 11th April 1990 customs in Middlesbrough seized parts of what were believed to be parts of a massive 'supergun' on a ship bound for Iraq. It was revealed that parts of the gun had been manufactured by Forgemasters who stated that they had been told that the pipes were to be used in a petrochemical project.
[edit] Forgemaster Facts
- Currently the largest pouring capacity for a single ingot (570 tonnes) in Europe.
- The two forging presses in use can exert a pressure of 2500 tonnes and 10000 tonnes on a billet of steel.
[edit] Interesting Fact
The company gave their name to the producers of the first Warp Records release, WAP001 "Track With No Name" by Forgemasters. Forgemasters were Rob Gordon, Winston Hazel and Sean Maher, who went on to release other records on Warp and other labels separately.
"Track with No Name" was instrumental in creating "Bleep'N'Bass" - UK techno with a stripped-down minimal feel and a concentration on the low-end.
