The age of steel dawned around 150 years ago. To ensure it continues for centuries to come, foundries will need to embrace new materials, technologies, processes and industrial innovations. Thankfully, the UK steel industry is already at the cutting-edge of technical developments.
No one can argue that the UK steel industry has faced – and continues to face – challenging conditions.
High energy costs have exposed our nation’s producers to decades of low growth and increased competition from imports.
Things came to a head in Autumn 2015 when cheap Chinese steel – of reportedly questionable quality – flooded the global market, resulting in the closure or reduction in capacity at major plants in Redcar, Scunthorpe, Scotland and South Wales.
It’s thought that around 7,000 jobs have been directly affected to date.
The sluggish and arguably ineffective reaction from Sajid Javid – Secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills at the time, and current Home Secretary – won him little respect from industry, trade associations and trade unions alike.
More recently, Donald Trump took matters into his own tiny hands by imposing tariffs on US imports of steel (25%) and aluminium (10%). Intended as a largely tit-for-tat measure against Chinese dumping, the result is a rather blunt approach to what was, and remains, a complex global issue – overcapacity.
Change is the only constant
Continued global overcapacity in the steel sector demonstrates the need for effective and meaningful innovation. Luckily, the UK has led the world in the field of industrial innovation for centuries. It’s a pedigree that is still very much alive today and nowhere more so than in our nation’s foundries.
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