Teesside Steelworks

Teesside Steelworks at night

Teesside Steelworks is a large steelworks located along the south bank of the River Tees between Middlesbrough and Redcar in the unitary authority area of Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Located near the mouth of the River Tees close to the river's outfall into the North Sea, the site's blast furnace is the second largest in Europe[1], however it was closed in 2015 along with the Southbank coke ovens.

History

Founded by Dorman Long in 1917, the steel produced was used to build structures including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Tyne Bridge and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Under the socialist plans of the post-Second World War Labour Party, in 1967 Dorman Long was absorbed into the newly created nationalised company, British Steel Corporation. After privatisation under Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party in 1988 to form British Steel plc, in 1999 the company merged with Netherlands-based steel maker Koninklijke Hoogovens to form Corus Group. Corus utilised the site for basic oxygen steelmaking, using iron produced at the company's Redcar blast furnace. In 2007, Corus was bought by Tata Steel.[2]

SSI: 2012–present

In light of the termination of a large contract in 2009, Tata stopped production and 1,700 jobs were lost at the plant.[3]

On 24 February 2011, the steelworks was purchased by Thai-based Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI).[4] On 15 April 2012 the plant was officially reopened.[5] On 18 September 2015, production was paused due to the decline in steel prices.[6] On 28 September 2015, the plant was "mothballed" amid poor steel trading conditions across the world and a drop in steel prices.[7] On 2 October, the owner of the site, SSI UK, entered liquidation. On 12 October 2015 the receiver announced there was no realistic prospect of finding a buyer and the coke ovens would be extinguished.[8]

Transport

The plant is alongside Teesport, used for iron ore, coal, and other raw material imports, and steel exports.

The plant is served by British Steel Redcar railway station, which opened on 19 June 1978.[9] According to the SRA only 486 tickets to or from British Steel Redcar station were sold during 2004–05 as there is no public access to and from the station (it being located on Tata Steel Europe property) and it has a very limited service.

References

  1. ↑ "Workers return as steelworks furnace is relit". BBC News – Business (BBC). 15 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "Teesside Steelworks For Sale". BBC News (BBC). 26 January 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  3. ↑ "2,000 face redundancy at English steelworks". Wikinews. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  4. ↑ "Teesside steel plant's £291m sale secures 700 jobs". BBC News Online (BBC). 24 February 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  5. ↑ "Blast furnace at former Corus Redcar steel plant relit". BBC News Online (BBC). 15 April 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "SSI Redcar steel plant production 'paused'". BBC News. BBC. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "SSI Redcar steel plant mothballed, costing 1,700 jobs". BBC News. BBC. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "SSI Redcar steelworks to be shut". BBC News (BBC). 12 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 44. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.

Coordinates: 54°35′33″N 1°08′07″W / 54.5924°N 1.1352°W / 54.5924; -1.1352

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