British Steel today announced the opening of a new £26-million service centre, establishing itself as one of the world’s leading suppliers to the forklift truck mast industry.
The investment has been made at the company’s Special Profiles business in Skinningrove, in the North East of England, which specialises in manufacturing steel profiles for the earth moving, forklift, construction, shipbuilding, and mining markets.
It will enable the company to explore growth opportunities across the globe for its standard and bespoke forklift mast profiles, with the new warehousing and processing facility forecast to significantly increase throughput within the next two years.
Richard Napier, British Steel’s Sales Director, Special Profiles, said: “This is the largest single investment in our Special Profiles business for more than 30 years, demonstrating our owner’s commitment to strengthening British Steel’s position at the heart of UK manufacturing.
“The new facility also firmly establishes us as one of the world’s leading manufacturers and processors of value-added profiles for the forklift industry. Our extended range of products are designed and manufactured to exact customer requirements, with the new milling capability offering profiles with tolerances of just 0.1mm – precision few global competitors can match.
“We have already had extremely positive feedback about this investment from current customers, and potential new ones, and although our primary product offering will be for forklift mast profiles, we expect to expand this to include other product applications too.”
British Steel’s milling capability will primarily service the demanding high-reach forklift truck market. These vehicles are typically used to move loads in warehouses and because they operate at heights of up to 8 metres, exceptionally tight tolerances are needed for the mast sections – the moving parts which enable the truck’s forks to reach, collect and move items.
The facility, called the Skinningrove Service Centre, includes four new CNC lathes for turning mill rolls, three automated bandsaws for cutting stock to exact lengths, a laser measurement system for process control of every bar rolled, and a warehousing system for storing and processing material from the rolling mill. It also incorporates one of the finest large-capacity, 14-metre bed, milling machines in the world, enabling British Steel to deliver precise customer requirements to very tight tolerances.
The new manufacturing hub has been built at the heart of the Skinningrove site, which has been in operation for more than 150 years.
Richard said: “Teesside has a rich industrial heritage, and we’re excited to be investing in our future.
“Our superb new facility, and highly skilled colleagues, will help write another distinguished chapter in Skinningrove and British Steel history, and ensure we keep delivering market-leading products for many years to come.”
