Sheerness Steelworks

Sheerness Steelworks was a steel plant located at Sheerness, on the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent, England. The plant opened in 1971 and produced steel via the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) method rather than as a primary metal by the smelting of iron ore. The plant has closed down twice in its history; first in 2002 and again in 2012. Current owners Liberty House, had announced plans to re-open part of the site in 2016.

Sheerness Steelworks

Sheerness Steel Mill
Location within Kent
Built	1971–1972
Operated	1972–2002, 2003–2012
Location	Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England
Coordinates	51°26′23.4″N 0°45′08.6″E
Industry	Steel making
Products	Steel bar Steel rod Steel wire
Employees	400 (Thamesteel period)
Volume	1,400,000 tonnes (1,500,000 tons) Billet/Bar rod
Owner(s)	Co-Steel, 1972–1998 Allied Steel & Wire, 1998–2002 Thamesteel, 2002–2012 Liberty House, 2016–

History

The UK Government approved an application to build a steelworks in North Kent in May 1968. The output from the plant was due to be 188,000 tonnes (207,000 tons) per year, which was not seen as a threat to the operations of the Nationalised British Steel.[1] The steelworks was constructed on the site of a former dockyard,[note 1][2] military port and hospital in Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, Kent in 1971.[3] However, the full commissioning of the steelworks was not complete until March 1972,[4] and the plant was formally opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 8 November 1972.[5]

The Sheerness site made steel from scrap metal using the EAF method with scrap metal as opposed to the normal route which was to smelt iron ore and carbon in a Basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS) process, which at that time, over half of the world's steel plants did.[6] Because of this, it was described as a "mini-mill" in contrast to the integrated steelworks at Ravenscraig, Port Talbot and Scunthorpe. The scrap metal was supplied by water-borne transport (from a scrapyard in Erith)[7] or via inward rail transport, mostly south-eastern scrapyards (such as Ridham and some across London). In the latter stages of the steelworks (2003–2012), some of the scrap was sourced from areas out of the south-east such as Crossley's at Shipley and Thomson's scrapyard in Stockton-on-Tees.[8]

In 1980, the plant was picketed by steelworkers who were striking at British Steel plants,[5] and in 1984, miners who were on the miners' strike picketed the plant because the Co-Steel workers had not downed tools to join them on strike as other steelworkers had. However, Co-Steel, a Canadian registered company, was an independent steel-making concern and not part of the then Nationalised British Steel.[9]

The 1980s were an unsettled period for the steel industry and the Co-Steel management implemented changes to working practices and also persuaded all employees to become salaried staff as part of the company with a medical plan. In doing so, the whole plant became non-union by 1992.[10] This later led to picketing at the gates as union members accused the management of the plant of having a "Dickensian attitude" to its workers.[11]

In December 1998, Allied Steel & Wire (ASW) made a bid to take over the Co-Steel plant so as to consolidate its power in the steel market in Europe.[12] The takeover was described by analysts as a reverse takeover as Co-Steel was in profit at the time of the takeover and ASW was in debt. This amalgamation was completed by April 1999 with Sheerness losing 160 out of its 580 jobs, one furnace and its rod mill.[13][14] In 2002, ASW went into administration and was subsequently bought by a Spanish firm, Celsa. This led to 320 redundancies from the plant and a protracted battle for some to get their pension money back from the defunct ASW.[15][note 2][16]

In 2003, Thamesteel, a Saudi Arabian backed company, reopened the plant to produce steel billet and export it to the Middle-East. In January 2012, Thamesteel went into administration and the site later closed with the loss of 400 jobs.[17] The plant had not produced any steel since November 2011.[18]

In 2016, Peel Ports, the owners of the site, had 32 acres (13 ha) of the former steelworks site demolished and remediated at a final cost of £37 million. The work was undertaken to enable Peel Ports to enhance their car import and export business through the port. The works included infilling of the former steelworks cooling ponds and adding new warehousing and an improved rail connection.[19] In the same year, Liberty House announced its intention to lease the remainder of the site,[20] as the rolling mill on site was capable of producing up to 750,000 tonnes (830,000 tons) of rolled steel per year. Initial estimations were that the site would employ 60 people and possibly up to a further 40 employees if business was sufficient enough.[21] The Electric Arc Furnace on site was dismantled and taken to the Liberty Steel works at Newport in South Wales as this was far cheaper than having a new EAF built at Newport.[22]

Statistics

Owners	Year	Employees	Products	Volume	Notes
Co-Steel	1998	580			[13]
ASW	2002	300			[23][24]
Thamesteel	2012	400	Bar & Billet	840,000 tonnes (930,000 tons) Billet; 600,000 tonnes (660,000 tons) Bar rod	[16]

Notes

1. The dockyard had closed in 1960 with the loss of 700 jobs
2. The former ASW workers were granted £12 billion from the European Court of Justice after a five-year battle

References

1. "Steelworks, Thames Estuary - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
2. Platt, Len (2016). Writing London and The Thames Estuary 1576–2016. Leiden: Brill Rodopi. p. 121. ISBN 9789004346659.
3. "Sheerness Dockyard and Sheerness Steel Works". kentrail.org.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
4. "Former Thamesteel Site, Brielle Way, Sheerness, Kent" (PDF). services.swale.gov.uk. p. 145. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
5. Nurden, John (4 May 2017). "End of an era as steel mill bites the dust". Kent Online. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
6. Nurden, John (12 May 2017). "Memories of old steel works as demolition crew moves in". Kent Online. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
7. Winch, C (March 2014). "Kemsley SPN Regional Development Plan" (PDF). library.ukpowernetworks.co.uk. p. 13.
8. Shannon, Paul (2008). "5. Metals". Rail Freight Since 1968; Bulk Freight (1 ed.). Kettering: Silver Link. pp. 79–99. ISBN 978-1-85794-299-6.
9. Hermiston, Roger (5 March 2009). "Reporting the pickets". BBC - Today. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
10. Ahlbrandt, Roger S; Giarratani, Frank; Fruehan, Richard J (1996). The renaissance of American steel : lessons for managers in competitive industries. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780195108286.
11. Clark, Andrew (13 November 1998). "Trouble at mill gates as Kent steelworks converts its operatives into 'managers'". The Daily Telegraph. ProQuest 317117256.
12. Guerrara, Francesco (22 December 1998). "Tough markets prompt ASW bid for rival Co-Steel". The Independent. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
13. "BBC News | The Company File | Steel jobs on the line". BBC News. 24 December 1998. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
14. "BBC News | The Economy | Steel jobs to go". BBC News. 26 April 1999. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
15. "Hope for new jobs at steelworks". BBC News. 12 August 2004. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
16. "Thamesteel - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
17. Farrell, Sean (20 April 2016). "How the UK steel crisis unfolded". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
18. Smith, Tim (26 January 2012). "UK's Thamesteel goes into administration | Steel Times International". www.steeltimesint.com. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
19. Morby, Aaron (24 August 2017). "Sisk set for £37m Sheerness steelwork clear-up | Construction Enquirer". www.constructionenquirer.com. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
20. Tovey, Alan (14 October 2016). "Vote of confidence in UK steel as Liberty plans to reopen Kent plant". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
21. Pooler, Michael (14 October 2016). "Liberty House to reopen Kent steel works". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
22. Tovey, Alan (5 March 2016). "New steel jobs at risk as Liberty balks at high energy costs". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
23. "Allied Steel and Wire". BBC News. 16 November 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
24. "Sheerness steel plant adrift after ASW sale". Kent Online. 10 January 2003. Retrieved 1 September 2018.

External links

• Diagram of the site on the kentrail website