Russian company in talks over Carrington Wire pension scheme

Last year, Carrington Wire, based in Elland, West Yorkshire, closed down with the loss of more than 80 jobs.

Russian parent company Severstal, which bought the firm in 2006, said the decision was due to a contraction in the market for steel wire.

Carrington Wire's Elland plant made products for industries ranging from retail to aerospace. The plant had suffered from declining sales for around five years.

In a statement issued in 2010, Severstal said: "In spite of financial support and initiatives to return the business to profitability, including the consolidation of manufacturing at Elland, Carrington Wire is no longer viable."

At the time, Severstal, which is Russia's largest steelmaker, said management had "reluctantly concluded" that a managed wind-down of the Carrington Wire business should be implemented.

Representatives of former employees at Carrington Wire said they are seeking talks to ensure that guarantees are put in place to safeguard payments being made into the company's defined benefit pension scheme.

Craig Whittaker, the Conservative MP for Calder Valley, has written to the Pensions Regulator asking him to investigate the position of the Carrington Wire pension scheme, after Carrington Wire was sold out of the Severstal Group.

A spokesman for the Pensions Regulator said: "In respect of Carrington Wire, we are able to confirm that we have an open case to consider whether the use of powers would be appropriate."

Businessman Richard Williams of Gillico, which took over Carrington Wire in June last year, told the Yorkshire Post: "Carrington Wire ceased manufacturing in January 2010 and the companies operations were run down prior to my takeover. With regards to a pension guarantee, this is a matter between Severstal, the previous owners, and the pension trustees. I am not and never have been party to any such guarantee and I am not a trustee to the scheme and never have been.

"I am aware the Pension Regulator has a file open and I am providing any information the regulator or the independent trustees, who are looking after the scheme, may require."

A spokesman for Severstal-Metiz said: "We can confirm that Carrington Wire has been sold. Severstal is currently in negotiations with the trustees regarding the scheme."

Carrington Wire was founded around 200 years ago. It was a key part of the UK steel industry for most of its history.

At its peak, the company employed around 2,000 staff. The company also had an operation in Cardiff, which closed in late 2007, following a management decision to consolidate its UK operations in Elland. Around 30 per cent of its output was exported.