Forward steel!
03 Oct 2008
Corus Strip Products UK (CSP UK) is undergoing great positive change: more, better, safer.
Last year the business had its most safe and successful year in recent times. The blast furnaces produced 3.9 million tones of molten iron—beating the previous record by 200,000 tonnes. The steelmaking furnaces produced 4.4 million tonnes. A series of milestones were passed and production records were also set in the coke-making facilities, raw materials handling departments, rolling mills and coating lines. Steel prices are high, but energy and raw materials costs are also high. The pressure has never been so great to produce high volumes at high quality, competitively and with due care to our environment.
“That is what sustainability means to us,” says Uday Chaturvedi, managing director at CSP UK. “Current market conditions are exciting, but the challenge to increase volumes, quality and revenue is more intense, coupled with our challenges in corporate social responsibility.”
As part of the Tata Steel Group, Corus is determined to set out its store for a positive future. Before the beginning of this year, Corus had invested some £350 million in the Port Talbot and Llanwern businesses since 2002. In the past decade investments have been made in major industrial plant: a continuous annealing line in 1998 and a new blast furnace and continuous caster in 2002. And these have stolen the limelight from many smaller but significant investments in energy optimisation and by-product management.
Serious about the future of steelmaking in Wales
Following the merger with Tata, the South Wales steelmaker has made further investment in the business. The £60 million investment in a gas recovery plant will be a step forward towards self-sufficiency in energy. “Alongside raw materials cost, the price of energy plays a vital role in defining our strategy,” Mr Chaturvedi continues. “This investment sends a vital message to the steel industry in Wales. It tells us that we are really serious about the future of the heavy-end of steelmaking here.” At current energy prices, the investment is expected to deliver over £26 million in combined natural gas and electricity savings, which means the investment covers its cost in about two years. “The investment is irresistible….”, adds Uday, “….given that the business is committed to the long term strategy of making steel from ore in Wales.” Equally, a further £9 million is set to support coke-making in Wales. In terms of jobs, this secures the deep-water harbour, raw materials preparation departments, sinter plant, blast furnaces, steelmaking plant and continuous caster—and a host of other functions besides. It was an investment which supports at least two-thirds of the workforce.”
All this is a shot in the arm for the plant in Llanwern too. Here, CSP UK has restructured the 1,500-strong workforce to create a highly versatile, world-class rolling mill. “Llanwern is vital to our future,” says Mr Chaturvedi. “Our teams there are rolling over up to 1.5 million tonnes of steel. And in addition we are looking to upgrade our final product from Llanwern’s galvanising line, known as Zodiac, to a full finish outer-body automotive panel line.”
Creating a future through developing people
Investment and technical improvement is impressive, but the most exciting steps forward have been in developing people. CSP UK’s workforce has grown by about 800 in the past 5 years or so and the business is committing over £700,000 in training and development for over 100 apprentices and trainees and 50 graduates.
This month, Corus has augmented its high-level engineering research and training capability through a £1.2 million partnership with Cardiff University to found a Centre of Excellence in specific technical areas. “Technology can be bought,” says Mr Chaturvedi, “it might even be very expensive. But if you want to create special people, not only do they need to be selected, but thereafter, trained, developed and motivated.”
One of Corus’ human challenges recently has been in bringing about change. Since 2005 “The Journey,” as it came to be called, set about challenges that went far deeper than performance, efficiency and quality. What was needed was a new style of working, a change that ran deep into the subconscious of the population—a matter of changing hearts and minds.
Over the past 2 years Corus has rebuilt confidence not just in the workforce but also in the whole working community of unions, contractors and suppliers. “Involving all parties has been key to the success of the Journey. The industry has undergone challenging times, but these essential partners have been on-board from day-one.” Mr Chaturvedi adds, “People have united behind a common purpose—taking the initiative, creating a future. It’s not been about adopting sophisticated business models—it’s been about exposing what could be improved and creating conditions such that change becomes irresistible.” Transparency and commitment have been the watchwords of The Journey. “The results are everywhere,” Mr Chaturvedi recounts; “all 5,000-plus employees have signed-up to our values and beliefs, and they all have a clarity of purpose in goals which link together both between individuals, teams and departments—but which possess an alluring logic from the MD’s objectives down to the shop-floor.”
Confidence and conscience about the future
Now part of the 6th largest steelmaker in the World, Corus may be in a better competitive position in the 21st Century’s global economy. “But sustainability means more than continuity,” Mr Chaturvedi says. “Our future depends not just on our business viability, neither is it geared solely to the role we play at the epicentre of a key part of the economy. But I believe we will be judged by future generations on what we have delivered for the community at large and our environment.” Mr Chaturvedi adds, “We are making strides into reducing our environmental impact. Following commissioning next year, the energy recovery project will reduce our carbon emissions by 240,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and reduce our dust emissions by some 40 tonnes—and that is a bonus to the essential energy recycling benefit. I can say, with true conviction,” says Mr Chaturverdi, “that we are a company with real conscience about the future.
“We still have a huge range of challenges,” concludes Mr Chaturvedi, “But we can afford a moment to reflect on some notable successes recently and that we are building from a strong position a sustainable steel industry in Wales.”
