Sheffield Forgemasters creating jobs in multi-million pound deal for 72 huge artillery barrels
The MoD-owned business has picked up a significant defence order
Seventeen jobs are being created and 10 secured after Forgemasters landed a multi-million pound order for huge gun barrels.
The Brightside company will make 72 artillery parts for the British army, to fill a gap created by the donations of weapons to Ukraine.
A spokesman said MoD-owned Forgemasters was the only site in the country that could fulfill the contract.
He added: “The gun barrels contract will support 17 new roles, plus help secure an existing 10 roles across the business.”
They will be made from steel alloy in a process which will see two-tonne ingots created in the meltshop and then forged into long cylinders before being machined to put a hole in them.
It comes after Sheffield was hailed the ‘home of artillery production’ as BAE Systems launched a factory making lightweight howitzers last year.
The Forgemasters barrels will be finished at German company Rheinmetall’s large-calibre facility in Telford.
They will be used on RCH 155 guns which can fire then move position at 62mph to fire again, making them more difficult for the enemy to target, defence chiefs say.
Announcing the deal, John Healey, defence secretary and Rotherham MP, said: “This major investment is defence delivering for the battlefield and for Britain’s economy.
“By securing next-generation artillery with Germany, not only are we rearming to strengthen Nato against growing Russian aggression but also creating highly skilled jobs here in Britain.”
Forgemasters is building a massive machining hall on land near Meadowhall and a 13,000 tonne forging line at its Brightside headquarters as part of a £1.3bn upgrade - the biggest in its 250-year history.