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06 June 2007
Severstal may close Carrington Wire's Cardiff plant
Carrington Wire's Cardiff plant, part of the UK subsidiary of Severstal Metiz, may be closed down as the Russian company aims to rationalise its international operations, the company has confirmed. A spokeswoman for the company said a 90-day consultation period had been announced to staff on June 4 which would "review the operational strategy of Carrington Wire" in South Wales. Closure of the plant is one option being considered, she confirmed.
"The reason for the consultation is to optimise asset utilisation in the group. We have a consolidating client base and we have increased pressure from imports. We need to improve our overall efficiency as a business."
Severstal Metiz, the metalware division of Russian steel major Severstal, acquired Carrington in April of last year. The Cardiff operation has capacity to process some 70,000 to 75,000 tonnes of wire from an overall UK tonnage of 200,000 tonnes, according to the spokeswoman.
The Cardiff plant produces cold-heading and pre-stressed concrete wire and strand products.
The spokeswoman said the transfer of some production from Cardiff to Russia was under consideration.
A source in the UK long products sector said he expects Severstal to shift production of the pre-stressed products to Russia and export them to existing UK clients, while cold-heading could be consolidated at Carrington's other UK site in Elland, west Yorkshire. "The Carrington site in Elland is quite modern but at Cardiff there has been no investment for 30 years. Compared to the modern equipment around the world it can't compare. The choice [for Severstal] is to spend quite a lot of money optimising it, or to close it."
A final decision on the future of the Cardiff plant will be announced in mid- to end-September, the Carrington spokeswoman said.
Metal Bulletin News Alert Service
Martin Ritchie
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