Steel closure hits Yorks firms
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• The closure of a Yorkshire steel works is expected to have a "devastating effect" on haulage businesses in the Sheffield area.
Dozens of hauliers will be hit by the downsizing of the Corus business in Yorkshire and the Midlands with the lass of 1.200 of its 2,000 engineering jobs, Corus—formerly British Steel until it was bought out by Dutch firm Hoogovens last year—is closing its Tinsley Park works, selling its metal recycling business and scaling down production at its Stocksbridge plant.
Tinsley Park produces 30,000 tonnes of steel a year, all of which is transported by road. Doug Davenport is managing director of R Cox Haulage, which is not affected by the closure. He reports: "A lot of large and small hauliers feed off the Carus business in Sheffield. This is going to have a devastating effect on the haulage industry in the Sheffield area."
Among those hit are Deepcar Transport, Ernest Thorpe, ABS Transport and Truswalls.
A spokesman for Corus says he hopes the impact on hauliers will be minimised as production has been scaled back significantly in recent months in the face of the weak Euro. In March Corus warned that none of its UK plants were safe at prevailing exchange rates.