Liberty Steel, part of UK-based industrial group GFG Alliance, will invest more than GBP60 million ($80.61 million) at its South Yorkshire, UK, GREENSTEEL production hub at Rotherham to boost the works' viability by doubling production to 1 million mt/year to supply the domestic market, the company said Dec. 15.

 

The Rotherham works aims to supply the transport, defense and construction sectors as part of the UK government's Build Back Better plan, Liberty said in a statement. The investments will remove production bottlenecks at the works' electric arc furnace (N-Furnace) and small bloom caster, it said.

 

Liberty will launch a public tender to upgrade its N-Furnace for increased scrap steel melting, make upgrades to its Thrybergh bar mill and install a new rod block to produce wire rod and and de-bar in coil. The program aims to boost supply of the company's "GreBar" reinforcing bars for construction, energy facilities and transport links as part of the UK government's GBP100 billion infrastructure spending plan, at the same time reducing the UK's reliance on imported steel, and strengthening domestic supply chains.

 

First shipments of GreBar from Thrybergh were recently targeted at UK infrastructure projects including HS2, and Liberty aims to partner with a rebar fabrication company onsite for GreBar production, the company said.

 

Liberty has expanded rapidly in steelmaking mainly via acquisitions since 2015, when it restarted a works in Newport, South Wales. The group now has a steel rolling production capacity of around 18 million mt/year.

 

Engineering bar merger

 

Liberty and Acenta Steel, part of the international AARTEE steel and engineering group, have agreed a deal to combine their engineering bar divisions to create AARTEE Bright Bar, which according to Liberty will be a UK market leader in bright bar steel used for high quality components in the automotive, general engineering, hydraulics and yellow goods industries, with operations in South Yorkshire and the Midlands.

 

Jon Ferriman, managing director, Liberty Steel UK, noted that the company has already doubled production at Rotherham to 500,000 mt since Liberty acquired the business there in 2017.