Liberty Speciality Steels starts recruiting in Rotherham and Sheffield

Some will work at one of Rotherham’s two electric arc furnaces, which will also be increasing production, while others will be based at the company’s mill and finishing lines in Stocksbridge.

The recruitment drive comes a month after Liberty’s bought the business from Tata for £100m, securing 1,700 existing employees and opening the way for the creation of a further 300 jobs.

Further recruitment, including taking on new apprentices, will take place in September and employment will continue to grow over the next two to three years, as production expands, the firm says.

Jon Bolton, chief executive of Liberty Speciality Steels, said: “We have big ambitions for the future so we’re eager to start the process of getting new people on board to help us move ahead with our plans.

“We’re looking for recruits from a broad range of backgrounds, especially adaptable people from the locality with a positive attitude and a hunger to learn about steel. We’ve got many highly-talented and experienced people on the team here who will train newcomers for key roles in an exciting industry entering a promising new era.”

Liberty, which is part of the GFG Alliance, acquired the Speciality Steels operation from Tata at the beginning of May as part of its GREENSTEEL strategy to establish a major integrated, competitive and low-carbon steel and engineering enterprise across the UK.

A key part of this plan is the recycling of scrap steel in arc furnaces powered by renewable energy.

In the past 18 months alone, the business, along with its sister company SIMEC, has invested more than £500m in acquiring industrial assets in Britain. Speciality Steels produces high-value steels, alloys and components. Over two thirds of products are exported.