750 jobs to be created as South Korean giant SeAH confirms opening of factory on the Humber

South Korean manufacturing giant SeAH is to create the facility at the Able Marine Energy Park site which will be the only UK-based factory building monopiles, the foundation columns for offshore wind turbines.

The new UK subsidiary, SeAH Wind, has committed to a three year programme of investment worth £260m in the region, with manufacturing operations set to commence in 2023.

The Yorkshire Post understands that as well as the 750 direct roles, a comparable number could be created in the supply chain.

The development was secured following the UK Government’s allocating grant funding from a £160 million package of support for offshore wind coastal manufacturing infrastructure.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told The Yorkshire Post that the development meant that the UK was on track to have 60 per cent of the offshore wind turbine industry being produced on British soil.

He said: “This is a great development.

“We have been trying over the last two or three years to actually land investment which can ground the supply chain here in the UK.

“We are in the position to deliver the promise of 60 per cent of UK content in the supply chain for offshore wind.

“You have got lots of things there which point to a really strong green industrial revolution commitment that will create jobs for many years to come. I think that is very exciting for the region. “

Offshore wind is a burgeoning sector for Yorkshire, with wind turbine blades already being produced in large numbers at Siemens Gamesa’s factory in Hull and work getting underway this week to build a new facility to process rare earth, the key component in the magnets used in turbines.

The SeAH funding forms part of a larger funding package being announced that sees more than £180 million Government and private investment which is expected to create and safeguard more than 1,000 jobs nationally.

Mr Kwarteng said that such inducements were necessary in order to secure investment into Britain’s green economy.

“The world we live in is a world in which governments are competing with other governments to attract investment,” he said.

“If we don’t give our support you can rest assured that the French will, the Germans will, the Italians will.

“All the advanced economic countries are seeking to attract this investment, so it is a competitive arena and there are understandable expectations that the Government will give some support.”

He added: “The amount of investment they will put in far exceeds any support that the Government will provide.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson Britain has a target of having every home in the UK powered by offshore wind within 10 years and it estimated that the sector could support up to 60,000 jobs, as well as play a key role in the race to make Britain net zero emissions by 2050.

Joosung Lee, COO of SeAH Steel Holdings Corporation, said: “Based on the active support and trust from the UK government, it is meaningful for SeAH that investment toward the monopile factory is in full swing.”

Councillor Rob Waltham, leader, North Lincolnshire Council and chair of the Humber Leaders’ Board, said: “This is a globally-significant investment which will be instrumental in creating well-paid, highly-skilled, sustainable jobs. It is a huge opportunity and I welcome the clear commitment from the Government to levelling-up.

“This latest cash is additional evidence of Government confidence in our plans which we have designed to create jobs and increase prosperity across the area.”