Sheffield Forgemasters
Friday, 20 March 2009
Based in the industrial steel capital of the UK, Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd (SFIL) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of bespoke engineering solutions. Yorkshire and Humber’s excellent transport links have meant that the company has been able to optimise its exporting activity, supported by the region’s highly skilled workforce.
As the world's largest independently owned forgemaster, SFIL creates steel forgings and castings for defence, nuclear, oil and gas exploration, power generation, marine and construction industries. The energy sector has been the most recent focus of the steel giant, having recently built a partnership with nuclear power company Curtiss Wright EMD which will see them enter the US nuclear power market.
This partnership is just the start of the company’s expansion into the nuclear power sector. With recent government backing of a new generation in nuclear power stations, Sheffield Forgemasters will be creating vital components which will help drive nuclear power plants in the UK.
A European leader in advanced engineering and materials research in metals, means that Yorkshire and Humber has the highest concentration of precision forgers in the UK. Utilising the region’s massive skills resource, SFIL draws upon the niche expertise of Sheffield’s workforce in steel engineering to create its ever evolving products. A workforce of 809 employees, of which 63 are on apprentice schemes, also demonstrates the longevity of the region’s engineering expertise.
Creating and transporting large scale products requires an excellent surrounding transport infrastructure. Exporting over 80 per cent of its products, SFIL relies on Yorkshire and Humber’s motorway links and large scale port complex in Hull, to import raw materials and ship their colossal forgings around the world. XX at SFIL, explains: “We source and manufacture all products here in Yorkshire, and export on a global scale. It’s therefore essential for us to easily access transport routes and have a port close by, as transportation of products can mean major traffic flow disruption.
“Working increasingly with the nuclear power market means that the company is rapidly growing. The skills set that we require can be extremely difficult to find, but there’s an abundance of people in the region with the right expertise to help the company keep its position as a global leader.”