Scotland’s Last Steel Plate Mill on the Chopping Block? GFG Alliance’s Clydebridge Exit Plan

GFG Alliance recently began marketing its Clydebridge steel plate mill near the Scottish city of Glasgow for sale. According to news reports, government body Scottish Enterprise sold Clydebridge as well as its nearby sister plate roller Dalzell to GFG in 2016, after previous owner Tata Steel mothballed the two plants in 2015.

“Following a review of commercial options, GFG Alliance has decided to market the site at Clydebridge for possible sale,” reports quoted the company as saying last week. They added that “no jobs will be affected.” 

“We are working closely with Scottish Enterprise to ensure this decision will allow GFG Alliance to bolster its Dalzell site, protecting production and employment at Scotland’s last remaining steel mill,” GFG continued.

GFG also acquired a £7 million ($8.74 million), three-year loan to restart Clydebank and Dalzell from Scottish Enterprise. However, reports noted that the company has only made interest payments on that loan. Despite several attempts, GFG representatives were unavailable for comment on Sept. 12 and 13.

The company has only made interest payments on that loan, however, reports noted. GFG representatives were unavailable for comment on Sept. 12 and 13, despite several attempts.

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Together, the Facilities Boast an Impressive Steel Plate Output  

Clydebridge is in southeast Glasgow, and can produce up to 60,000 metric tonnes per annum of quenched steel plate. One source close to the plants told MetalMiner that the facility’s feedstock slab comes from British Steel’s Scunthorpe works in Lincolnshire. Clydebridge’s sister plant, Liberty Steel Dalzell, lies just a mile away. This facility also uses Scunthorpe slab, but can produce up to 400,000 metric tonnes per year of steel plate.

One industry watcher expressed his doubt over who would be interested in buying Clydebridge, noting that there were issues of “flatness” from the site. “Considering the quality of the product, I don’t even know who would be interested. Novolipetsk Steel – no. Metinvest – no. No one had a surplus of slabs, and Metinvest still doesn’t have any,” that source said. “Perhaps a Chinese company with access to slab will acquire it.”

Applications for plate include construction and the production of yellow goods. The flat-rolled product also sees frequent use in the design of high-pressure vessels and in shipbuilding, the latter of which is a major industry in Scotland’s Clydeside region.

As of mid-September, offers on imported steel plate from Asia into Europe were €675-705 ($725-755) per metric tonne CFR European ports for January delivery (These steel plate price points and price forecasts are covered on MetalMiner Insights). As one trader noted, this remained unchanged month-on-month. 

The latest offers on imported plate from Asia into Europe as of mid-September were €675-705 ($725-755) per metric tonne cfr European ports for January delivery, unchanged month-on-month, one trader noted.

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