UK-based steel producer Liberty Steel has announced that it has decided to restart the production of weathering steel, used for structures such as bridges, building facades and landmark pieces of public art, at its Scottish plants at Dalzell and Clydebridge.
According to Liberty Steel, the reintroduction of weathering steel in the coming weeks means that, not only will the Dalzell rolling mill, which reopened in September 2016, be busier than before, but there will be increasing use of the neighboring Clydebridge works at Cambuslang, which provides the extra processing needed to enable this kind of steel to withstand exposure to the elements in the long term.
Drew McGhie, managing director of Liberty Steel Dalzell, said there are great market opportunities for weathering steel because there is currently very limited production of this type of steel in the UK and almost all needs have to be imported from continental Europe.
Dalzell, which currently employs 120 staff, is the last remaining large plate mill in the UK and makes steel that is used in areas such as construction, shipbuilding, pipelines, cranes and heavy vehicle manufacture.