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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K's state-owned Sheffield Forgemasters (Sheffield, England) has been granted permission to construct the country's largest machining hall as part of a major reinvestment in the company.
The landmark 30,000-square-meter (m2) machining facility will be located on a 16-acre brownfield site at Weedon St. in Sheffield's Meadowhall district, on the banks of the River Don. Site preparation work is already underway for what the company called "one of the world's most advanced large machining facilities," which will support manufacturing of major projects for U.K. defence programmes. The main building will have a 272.5 x 110 meter footprint -- the size of four football fields - and stand 32 meters tall. It will deliver "new levels of speed, accuracy and efficiency for the manufacture of large, highly complex, nuclear-grade components," the company stated. Adjoining the main building will be a second, proposed 3,500-m2 building that will serve as a state-of-the-art test-house facility and a dedicated training area for new engineers.
The company, which has been a key supplier to the country's defence, civil nuclear, maritime, offshore oil, gas and renewables sectors, was acquired by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2021 after a number of years of financial difficulties. The MoD said at the time that the purchase was necessary to secure supply of key parts for the Royal Navy's ships and submarines. Part of the deal included an investment of up to £400 million (US$483 million) in the company over a 10-year period. At the end of 2022, Industrial Info reported that planning permission had been granted for the first stage in building the U.K.'s largest open-die forging press in Sheffield at nearby Brightside Lane. That project is currently under construction, and the 12,700-m2 building will house a new 13,000-tonne press that will replace the company's existing 10,000-tonne press, which is capable of forgings up to 330 tonnes. It was installed in the 1950s and upgraded in the 1980s. For additional information, see Dec 5, 2022, article - Green Light for U.K.'s Largest Forging Project.
Craig Fisher, programmes director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: "This planning agreement will see construction of the largest machining hall of its kind in the U.K., and regeneration of a prominent brownfield site in the city's industrial centre. The sheer scale of the building will make it an iconic landmark and will eclipse the construction of the U.K.'s largest open-die forging-line, which is also underway on our adjacent Brightside Lane site. It signals an amazing investment for the city and for the wider U.K., which will create highly-skilled engineering jobs for decades to come, fully supporting our national defence programmes."
German machine tools specialist WaldrichSiegen (Siegen, Germany) has been contracted to supply seven large five-axis vertical turning lathes (VTLs)--the largest in the U.K.--alongside seven 5- to 8-meter tables, three gantry mills with 6- to 16-meter turning capability, three RAM Hydrostatic Boring Mills, three heavy-duty horizontal lathes with 24- to 27-meter beds and one gantry bandsaw.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The landmark 30,000-square-meter (m2) machining facility will be located on a 16-acre brownfield site at Weedon St. in Sheffield's Meadowhall district, on the banks of the River Don. Site preparation work is already underway for what the company called "one of the world's most advanced large machining facilities," which will support manufacturing of major projects for U.K. defence programmes. The main building will have a 272.5 x 110 meter footprint -- the size of four football fields - and stand 32 meters tall. It will deliver "new levels of speed, accuracy and efficiency for the manufacture of large, highly complex, nuclear-grade components," the company stated. Adjoining the main building will be a second, proposed 3,500-m2 building that will serve as a state-of-the-art test-house facility and a dedicated training area for new engineers.
The company, which has been a key supplier to the country's defence, civil nuclear, maritime, offshore oil, gas and renewables sectors, was acquired by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2021 after a number of years of financial difficulties. The MoD said at the time that the purchase was necessary to secure supply of key parts for the Royal Navy's ships and submarines. Part of the deal included an investment of up to £400 million (US$483 million) in the company over a 10-year period. At the end of 2022, Industrial Info reported that planning permission had been granted for the first stage in building the U.K.'s largest open-die forging press in Sheffield at nearby Brightside Lane. That project is currently under construction, and the 12,700-m2 building will house a new 13,000-tonne press that will replace the company's existing 10,000-tonne press, which is capable of forgings up to 330 tonnes. It was installed in the 1950s and upgraded in the 1980s. For additional information, see Dec 5, 2022, article - Green Light for U.K.'s Largest Forging Project.
Craig Fisher, programmes director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: "This planning agreement will see construction of the largest machining hall of its kind in the U.K., and regeneration of a prominent brownfield site in the city's industrial centre. The sheer scale of the building will make it an iconic landmark and will eclipse the construction of the U.K.'s largest open-die forging-line, which is also underway on our adjacent Brightside Lane site. It signals an amazing investment for the city and for the wider U.K., which will create highly-skilled engineering jobs for decades to come, fully supporting our national defence programmes."
German machine tools specialist WaldrichSiegen (Siegen, Germany) has been contracted to supply seven large five-axis vertical turning lathes (VTLs)--the largest in the U.K.--alongside seven 5- to 8-meter tables, three gantry mills with 6- to 16-meter turning capability, three RAM Hydrostatic Boring Mills, three heavy-duty horizontal lathes with 24- to 27-meter beds and one gantry bandsaw.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
