Tata Steel expands UK’s largest steel processing centre

Tata Steel has completed a series of investments at its Steelpark site at Wednesfield, West Midlands strengthening the site’s position as the UK’s largest steel processing centre.

The start-up of a further multi-strand blanking line has completed the expansion of Steelpark’s new Light Gauge Service Centre, which operates cut-to-length, blanking and slitting lines processing hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel coils.

Tata Steel’s Chief Commercial Officer in Europe, Henrik Adam, said: “What we have created at Steelpark is a national hub for flat product processing that serves the whole of the UK.

“Getting the right logistics is one of the key elements in improving service to steel customers. The vast majority of the steel processed at Steelpark comes in by rail through our nearby Round Oak rail head. By reorganising our distribution activities and collecting such a large array of capability onto a single site we have improved the productivity of our processing lines and the efficiency our customer delivery systems.”

The new Light Gauge Centre has been formed by the installation of a dedicated decoiler and three multi-strand blanking lines that process steel sheet supplied in coil from Tata Steel plants in Wales.

This is supported by further shearing lines for the supply of smaller precision blanks. Together with the adjacent slitting centre that has been operating out of Steelpark for many years, the new Light Gauge Centre has an overall throughput capability of 500,000t per annum.