Corus 100yr brochure.indd - Tata Steel

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Parallel paths Corus Strip Products UK and Tata Steel each have a works that has been operating for a century: Port Talbot in South Wales and Jamshedpur in India. And that is not all they have in common. During their history, both have undergone programmes to improve the performance of their businesses by changing the culture within. They share a strong dedication to their employees and to the communities that surround their works. Looking at their history and, in particular, at their activities in the community, a similar business philosophy is evident. Corus Strip Products UK The origins of Port Talbot Works go back to 1253, when locally mined ores were worked in small, stone-built charcoalfuelled furnaces under the auspices of the monks in nearby Margam Abbey. This continued until 1717, when the first Baron Mansel of Margam set up the Afan Forge at Margam. Port Talbot In the 19th century, locals recognised that the area needed a better port. Opened in 1837, Port Talbot dock was named after its principal sponsor, Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot of Margam. The dock was enlarged and enhanced over the years and was the basis for the development of metal working in the area. The low-cost bulk steelmaking techniques pioneered by Bessemer and Siemens in the late 1800s revolutionised the industry. At the same time, new uses for steel greatly increased demand. In 1901, work began on the construction of the first Port Talbot steel works when the Port Talbot Iron and Steel Company Limited was formed. 6
Port Talbot Works today Later, in 1906, Baldwins Limited acquired the works and began erecting two blast furnaces in 1916 at a new site called Margam Works just a half mile away. A further merger in 1930 ultimately created Guest, Keen, Baldwins Iron & Steel Company Limited. A third blast furnace was completed in 1941. Further amalgamations of the industry after the war led to The Steel Company of Wales Limited on 1st May 1947. This company reconstructed and expanded Port Talbot and Margam, adding the Abbey Melting Shop, a slabbing mill, hot strip mill and cold mill, which all began operating in 1951. By 1960, the Works had added blast furnaces 4 and 5. The Labour Government elected in 1964 decided to re-nationalise Britain’s steel industry—publicly owned between 1951 and 1957—and created the British Steel Corporation in 1967. In 1970, H.M. The Queen, formally opened a Basic Oxygen Steelmaking plant and a new tidal harbour. After the difficult years of the 1970s and early 1980s, the construction of the Morfa Coke ovens and the major hotstrip mill refurbishment initiated a period of consolidation. During the next decade, Port Talbot Works became one of the most efficient steel plants in the world. But in 1988, the British Steel Corporation was taken back into private hands, emerging as British Steel plc. Blast furnace 4 was rebuilt in 1992 and a new continuous annealing processing line was opened in 1999. In the same year, British Steel plc merged with Koninklijke Hoogovens, a Dutch steel and aluminium producer, to form Corus, a truly international metals company. A third caster was added in 2005 and there were significant heavy-end developments in 2003-2006. Today, 3600 employees produce some 4.7 million tonnes of steel a year, roll about three million tonnes of it themselves and send the rest to Llanwern to roll. 7
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Corus 100yr brochure.indd - Tata Steel

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