Conservative MP for Wolverhampton East Jane Stevenson was ‘blown away’ by her first visit to Tata Steel’s Steelpark site in Wednesfield.
With steel playing such a critical role in the economic and social fabric of the West Midlands, Ms Stevenson was keen to see first-hand one of the foundation industries that underpins the whole UK manufacturing sector.
She said: “This is hi-tech manufacturing at its very best – not only in the technology being deployed there, but the levels of innovation and supply-chain management at the very heart of one of the UK’s most important manufacturing regions.
“Companies such as Tata Steel play a vital role in my constituency, and I was delighted to meet some apprentices who are learning hugely valuable skills for their future careers. Getting more young people in Wolverhampton into work is one of my key ambitions as a Member of Parliament representing my home city.”
Tata Steel’s Wednesfield site lead Malcolm Boyles said: “It’s always a pleasure to welcome visitors to our site – it’s not quite what people expect as we take them through a maze of robots and laser-welding equipment.
“We supply advanced products to all the major manufacturing sectors and most of the UK car makers with semi-finished products such as door and roof blanks, so our technology and cleanliness has to be as good as theirs, if not better.
Also present to welcome Ms Stevenson was Tata Steel UK’s Chief Commercial Officer Anil Jhanji, who added: “Tata Steel continues to play a fundamental role at the heart of UK manufacturing. This was well illustrated during the recent pandemic when we supplied tubes for hospital beds, steels for canned food helping to reduce food waste, and were able to step up our output to help the UK construction sector start its ‘Build back better’ programme championed by Government following lock down.
“Our industry has some fundamental challenges about how to supply our customers with ‘green’ decarbonized steels, and like the rest of the world’s steel industry, we very much believe this is best done in partnership with our suppliers, our partner universities, our customers and with government.”
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Jane Stevenson MP meets Tata Steel workers at its site in Wednesfield
For further information: Tim Rutter on +44 (0)7850 990755 or tim.rutter@tatasteeleurope.com
About Tata Steel UK
- The Tata Steel Group has been named one of the most ethical companies in the world, and is among the top producing global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 34 million tonnes.
- Tata Steel in the UK has the ambition to produce net-zero steel by 2050 at the latest, and to have reduced 30% of its CO2 emissions by 2030.
- Tata Steel is the largest steelmaker in the UK with primary steelmaking at Port Talbot in South Wales supporting manufacturing and distribution operations at sites across Wales, England and Northern Ireland as well as Norway, Sweden, France and Germany. It also benefits from a network of international sales offices around the world.
- Tata Steel employs more than 8,000 people and has an annual crude steel capacity of 5 million tonnes, supplying high-quality steel products to demanding markets, including construction and infrastructure, automotive, packaging and engineering.
- Tata Steel Group is one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations and a commercial presence across the world.
- The Group recorded a consolidated turnover of US $32.83 Bn in the financial year ending March 31, 2022.
L-R Malcolm Boyles, Managing Director Tata Steel Distribution UK & Ireland; Jane Stevenson MP; Anil Jhanji, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Steel UK
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