British Steel pushes its long bar and special profile steel products

British Steel is re-establishing itself in the construction equipment market as a supplier of long product steel and special profiles. British Steel as an entity disappeared with its acquisition first by Corus in 1999 and then Tata in 2007, re-emerging in 2016 as an independent company – having bought back its name for £1. The company supplies long bars to manufacturers such as Caterpillar to build undercarriages, as well as crane rails, and bucket and cutting-edge profiles to various customers. Forks and
April 26, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Grant McBain: British Steel is back in the market

8746 British Steel is re-establishing itself in the construction equipment market as a supplier of long product steel and special profiles.

British Steel as an entity disappeared with its acquisition first by Corus in 1999 and then Tata in 2007, re-emerging in 2016 as an independent company – having bought back its name for £1.

The company supplies long bars to manufacturers such as Caterpillar to build undercarriages, as well as crane rails, and bucket and cutting-edge profiles to various customers. Forks and masts for forklifts companies such as Toyota is also a growing sector for the company.

This is an area where surface quality is becoming a critical factor, says Grant McBain, commercial director, special profiles at British Steel, prompting the company to recently invest £2m in developing leading edge surface quality manufacturing capabilities. 

Although it has established customer bases already in the US and Europe, the company is capitalising on its previous and current reputation as a reliable global supplier of quality steel to promote itself further in Europe, as well as in Asia and other growth markets, says McBain.

British Steel produces 2.8 million tonnes of steel a year in its blast furnaces in the North of England.

The company has seen a 25% increase in sales over the last 18 months and is anticipating a further increase of 10% over the next 18 months.

The company has recently increased its production from 14 to 16.5 shifts a week to meet demand. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Protecting the roadway with guard rails
    November 10, 2015
    Tata Construction Products is a major player in the European road protection market and aims to boost its share of business - Mike Woof writes. Part of the massive Tata Group, Tata Construction Products is a major player in Europe’s business segment for steel guard rails. Rodney Rice, marketing manager, Tata Steel Construction Products, said, “Our market is predominantly Europe.”
    Read More
  • Changing face of global construction industry
    February 28, 2012
    David CA Phillips reports on the changing structure of the global construction equipment industry. In 2007, the year of peak historical demand and before the onset of the international financial crisis, estimated total sales of key equipment types stood at just over 1,000,000 units, valued at approximately US$100 billion. By 2009 sales had fallen to around 600,000 units valued at around $65 billion. The consequences of the global financial recession were dramatic and immediate, and remain with us today, and
    Read More
  • Dozers and graders provide finishing cut
    November 6, 2012
    Established players face increasing competition in the market for bulldozers and graders - Mike Woof reports The world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment, Caterpillar is a company with a strong position worldwide and this has all grown from its track type tractor range. Caterpillar has long dominated the bulldozer market, as well as being involved in the grader segment since the inter-war period. The firm’s history ties it directly to the development of the crawler track with Ben Holt’s track
    Read More
  • CECE Congress focuses on future of construction
    May 8, 2012
    The bi-annual CECE Congress was held in Spain when participants looked forward in a bid to see what will happen in the next ten years. Growth markets such as China, India and Brazil offer big opportunities to European construction equipment manufacturers. As companies, particularly those from China, start to expand outside their own countries the competition for business will increase, and it has been claimed that there is no such thing as 'the global market', rather it is the sum of hundreds, if not thousa
    Read More

Highlighted Content