Monday 29 November 2010

Tata Steel to build £1.3m wind turbine plant

Tata Steel to build £1.3m wind turbine plant

Tata Steel is setting up a £1.3m plate processing and distribution plant in anticipation of a boom in wind power manufacturing.

The company is said to be building the plant at its existing centre in Scunthorpe.

Tata says the plant will handle up to 200,000 tonnes of steel a year which will be used to build turbines.

Tata Steel Plate Sales Manager Phil Knowles said: "This new hub allows us to supply plate to wind turbine and tower manufacturers at exactly the right time in their production process.

"Although this is a relatively new industry compared to some of our other market sectors, we've supplied steel for wind towers for seven years and we've worked hard to develop strong relationships with our customers."

Wind towers typically contain between 150 and 250 tonnes of steel. Most of the material Tata Steel will supply for wind towers will be delivered to customers in the UK and mainland Europe, but the completed wind towers may be shipped around the world.

India-headquartered Tata is one of the biggest steel makers in the world and already makes rig platforms for the offshore oil and gas industry. The company bought Corus Steel in 2007.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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