A recent visit to Liberty Steel in Motherwell has left an MSP singing the company’s praises after hearing of its ambitious plans for the site. Graham Simpson toured the Dalzell plant with CEO Jon Bolton and Managing Director Adrian Charman, who took time to explain future plans for the steel operations.
Liberty Steel owners GFG Alliance purchased the mothballed plant from the Tata Steel group in 2016 to continue the town’s proud tradition of producing top quality steel. Owner Sanjeev Gupta is also looking to go green as he targets getting the Scottish steelworks back to being a world leader whilst cutting the company's carbon footprint.
Mr Simpson said “Liberty Steel’s famous water tower dominates the skyline in Motherwell and I was keen to see the plant in action for myself. Jon and Adrian kindly agreed to show me the metal being rolled into high-quality steel plates that are in demand across the globe for a whole range of building and construction projects.
“The sheer scale of the plant is something else. Witnessing the 1000-degree Celsius metal being rolled and turned into a high-quality steel plate was an impressive sight. Before the tour, Jon explained GFG Alliance's ambitious “Greensteel” plans to reduce its carbon footprint by using recycled material and investing in low-cost power from hydro to biofuel, and waste-to-energy stations to feed their plants including Dalzell.
“Owner Sanjeev Gupta has shown real commitment to Scotland by investing a further £120m at his Fort William facilities which will become the UK’s only alloy wheels factory, creating nearly 400 new highly-skilled jobs. This along with the quality of the product they are producing at Motherwell and its sister site at Clydebridge, near Cambuslang, shows a real confidence in Scottish steel manufacturing again.
“The pride and enthusiasm along with the commitment from the owners down to the shop floor will make Liberty Steel a success in the coming years as it produces a top-class Scottish product that is in demand the world over.”