Forgemasters: Work starts on £350m steelworks near Meadowhall as defence orders soar

Forgemasters is building an enormous machine shop on land off Weedon Street, set to house ‘17 of the world’s largest and most advanced vertical turning lathes’.

The company bought 21 acres of land from British Land for the project. The building should be complete in 2028 and will make parts for the British defence programme, including the next generation of nuclear submarines, bosses say.

Richard Bell, sales and business development director, said they hired 23 apprentices this year and were planning more recruitment in 2025. The firm employs 675 people.

He added: “Along with the new 13,000 tonne forging line, the recapitalisation programme is certainly one of the largest investments in the steel industry since the 1960s.”

Nationalised in July 2021, Forgemasters is now fully-owned by the Ministry of Defence and is having a £400m upgrade.

In May, The Star revealed the then Meadowhall co-owner, British Land, had sold a plot to the south of the centre to Forgemasters after plans to create almost 5,000 jobs in a ‘River Don District’ failed to take off.

The new facility will shape and finish-machine nuclear-grade castings and forgings.

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Earlier this month, chief executive, Gary Nutter, said he was expecting investment to accelerate over the next three years, transforming production capabilities.

He added: “The company’s recapitalisation programme is designed to secure long-term sovereign capability for the UK and its allies’ defence needs and will positively affect the company’s delivery performance, as older machinery is replaced, and new facilities are brought online.”