Corus reports a record year in South Wales

07 Jan 2008

Corus’ production figures for 2007 show that the Port Talbot steelworks had its most successful and safe working year in recent times. The news comes hot on the heels of the manufacturing record broken in the hot rolling mill just before Christmas.

In 2007, Port Talbot’s two blast furnaces produced 3.9 million tonnes of molten iron – beating the previous record by around 200,000 tonnes. The Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) furnaces produced 4.4 million tonnes of molten steel, exceeding the previous record by some 200,000 tonnes. The balance between these figures of 500,000 tonnes represents the volume of recycled material used in the steelmaking process. These achievements have been met with similar production successes in the continuous casting operation.

Robert Bizzell, acting Managing Director, Corus Strip Products UK, says: “This success is a result of good teamwork and continuous improvement in the business. It also reflects the success of the company’s investment of over £350 million over the past 5 years into new plant and technology.”

“We are committed to creating a sustainable steel industry in South Wales. This is a perfect springboard for the new year.”

Corus is equally proud of the business’ best ever performance in safety. The company’s key measure of safety performance has significantly improved as the industry-wide safety measure of Lost Time Injury Frequency, (LTIF) reduced by 80 per cent in 2007 compared with 2006. 

The Port Talbot site experienced a tragic fatality in November 2007, when a contractor lost his life in a vehicle related incident. However, safety performance throughout the year and in all three CSP UK sites has improved.

Mr Bizzell continues, “We still have our challenges in health and safety and our aim is to meet the target of zero accidents. Nevertheless, Corus in South Wales has become one of the best performers in health and safety in its sector in the UK.”

As the Port Talbot steelworks breaks production records, Mr Bizzell comments on the vital role of the Llanwern plant. “We are aiming to create a world class, low-cost rolling facility in Llanwern. Here the team structure has been reconfigured for maximum efficiency as a balancing facility to complement the hot rolling mill in Port Talbot.”

Dai Ferris, Chair of the Multi-Union at Port Talbot says, “We are proud of a consistently strong performance throughout the year. We are a skilled and highly motivated workforce committed to securing the future for jobs in the South Wales steel industry.”

South Wales’ steel is used in a wide variety of industries: automotive, construction, appliances, tubes and pipes and packaging.