Steel Sheets in the Making
Page 89
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FOR over a century and a half, Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, has been asso
ciated with steel works. Its natural resources led to the formation of an industry .which grew in volume and importance, but in 1929 the valley was visited by misfortune ; the major portion of the Ebbw Vale Co. closed down, and in 1934 the district was officially listed as one of industrY's " black spots." It was not until 1935 'that the depression was overcome, for it was then that Richard Thomas and Co., Ltd., decided to revive the steel industry in the valley, with new works planned, constructed and equipped on the most modern lines.
The progress that has been made was revealed on April 17, when a party of • -visitors saw the results of months. of careful study in which the configura.tion of the .valley took a prominent place. On a site which is approximately 2i. mileslong and of a mile wide, there has grown.up a new. works for the production of steel and tin plate Which must be one of -the finest
in theitingdom.' • The modus operandi begins with the handling of raw material and ends with the production of steel and tin plate, which are put • to a variety of uses, including the making of panels for car bodies. Briefly, the procedure involves the making of ingots of steel, roughly rectangular in shape and weighing anything up to 10 tons; and the passing of these ingots, after certain preliminary treatment, to the rolling mills. The last-named are divided into three sections—roughing, hot finishing and cold finishing.
The mills themselves extend in a straight line down the length Of one huge shop, the metal being carried from one stage to the next on roller tables. Out of the original ingot there is formed a long ribbon of steel which emerges from the finishing train at nearly 2,000 ft. per minute, and worthy of note is the fact that throughout the process only "mechanical hands" can come in contact with it, .