Doncaster steel company set to close after 36 years

A Doncaster steel company has ceased trading after more than 35 years with the loss of 30 jobs.

Noel Village Foundry, of Balby, was placed in administration on December 15 and the decision to cease trading was taken four days later. Efforts to find a buyer for the business, which has supplied steel castings to the oil and gas industry since 1980, had proved unsuccessful.

Joint Administrator Howard Smith said: “A lack of capital investment in the oil and gas industry has reduced demand for steel products in recent years and put significant cashflow pressure on steel foundries like Noel Village.

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“Excess capacity in the steel market has created challenging trading conditions and limited options to sell the business or maintain it as a going concern.

“We are working closely with the employees affected by the administration to help them through this difficult time.”

Eight employees have been retained to assist the joint administrators with a

controlled wind down of the business and to assist with realising the company’s assets.

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A Doncaster business-owner, who does not wish to be named, said the company racked up debt of several thousand pounds with him just weeks before the business went into administration.

He said: “After invoices were not paid after a number of requests I went to speak to the company’s senior finance officer and I was told that I would be contacted on December 14 with a view to paying all of the invoices.

“When I didn’t hear from them I went to their office and found it closed. I was then told that it had gone into administration.

“I’m now going to contact the administrators and see if they’ll be able to help us.”

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Noel Village Foundry went into administration just days after Doncaster Central MP Dame Rosie Winterton spoke in Parliament seeking ‘urgent’ help from the Government.

“Surely, one of the Secretary of State’s priorities should be the steel industry?” she asked. “Is he aware that Noel Village foundry in Doncaster is being badly affected by reductions in the steel industry supply chain?

Business Secretary Greg Clark replied: “We are updating the procurement guidelines for steel to include the health service and local authorities and to drop the previous threshold of £10 million for which those guidelines apply.”