Jobs hope as silenced steel plant sold

SSI, Thailand’s largest steel maker, finalised an agreement to buy the Corus Teesside Cast Products site in Redcar, in a deal Business Secretary Vince Cable said would help to secure 700 jobs at the plant.

Unions and local politicians yesterday welcomed the announcement from SSI and Tata, which owns the Corus steel company in the UK. “This deal is very good news for workers at the Teesside plant and the region,” Mr Cable said.

“Coming just over a year after the plant was mothballed, it is a tribute to both companies involved – Tata Steel and SSI.

“Both parties have worked hard since August to reach a successful outcome on what has been a complex negotiation.

“This is a significant inward investment by SSI which will help to sustain the 700 jobs at the plant and create new ones at the site and the wider local economy.”

Unite national officer Paul Reuter said: “I’m delighted this deal has been put together and it’s a testament to the determination of the workforce to save the plant.

“The successful sale is the result of the unions, Tata, SSI and the local community working together.”

The deal values the business at $469m (£291m).

The acquisition is expected to lead to the creation of more than 800 jobs on top of the existing workforce of 700 at the steel plant, which will be brought back into full operation. The news comes a year after the plant was mothballed in February 2010.

TCP has the second-largest blast furnace in Europe and slab production capacity of 3.5m tonnes per year.

The production facilities include iron- and steel-making and the infrastructure and logistics facilities required to support full production.

The announcement follows a memorandum of understanding between SSI and Tata in August last year.