International industrial and metals group Liberty House has announced that it is resuming the production of steel structural hollow sections and tubes at its 100,000 mt per year Tredegar mill in Wales with support from the Welsh Government in a move that will create around 70 new jobs directly and many more in the supply chain.
Liberty is investing £3.7 million ($4.65 million) in refurbishing and updating the facility which is backed by £600,000 ($754,611) business finance from the Welsh government to help secure the project for Wales. This is the latest in a succession of steel and engineering businesses acquired by Liberty across the UK and it comes a year since the company reopened the hot strip mill at Newport, which had been mothballed by previous owners.
Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty House, said: “The reopening of Tredegar is very good news for our economy because it will be replacing imports with home-made product and creating sustainable skilled jobs here in Wales. The steel industry globally continues to face severe challenges. The sharp rise in raw material prices means that margins for producers are worse than ever and we foresee challenging times ahead. However, the UK is a mature market with customers demanding sophisticated products and exemplary service. We have the skills and capability here to serve our home market with high quality products on a competitive basis provided we can operate on a level playing field against our international competitors.”