As the UK’s largest steelmaker Tata Steel has been asked to assist government in drawing up plans which would see employees, many of whom are currently in high-emission industries, retrained as businesses accelerate towards meeting net-zero targets.

At the same time the plans will look at how future generations can access the education and skills they need to succeed and drive the pace to support a net-zero economy.

Steel is an essential material in building the infrastructure needed for the hyperloop, including the tubes through which it would travel. The giant steel tubes required for the hyperloop have numerous unique features compared with normal tubes. For instance, they need to allow the passenger or freight vehicle inside to travel in a low-pressure environment – where air is removed to reduce resistance and minimise energy usage – as well as retaining straightness over long distances.

Combining technical expertise

With the theme Let's talk about the future, industry experts, decision-makers and thought-leaders from four EU countries and China came together on 22 October live at the Tata Steel studio in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, and via video. Watch the full event here.

The £1.8million cutting, profiling and beveling machine is able to precisely cut and shape safety-critical steel tubes used to make parts known as twist-beam axels used in many modern cars.

With the addition of the new equipment Tata Steel has already secured orders from important European car makers and will be able to better serve other automotive customers.

Sanne Kramer, Works Manager at the Zwijndrecht site, said “The equipment is unique in several ways - it is fully automated and it can cut many sizes of tubes.

Following a variety of management roles within Tata Steel, Luc returned to the company’s packaging sector in 2008 as commercial director, and as part of the leadership team. 

In 2012 he became pricing director where he was tasked with creating a common approach to pricing across Tata Steel in Europe- an approach very much aligned to customer needs and market specific drivers.

All of Tata Steel’s operations in 26 countries have signed up to ResponsibleSteel the industry’s first globally-present standards and certification scheme for sustainability. Tata Steel is one of the largest steelmakers in the world to become a member. 

That usually means needing access to at least one car for most households. Car buyers look closely at running costs and most assume a fuel-efficient vehicle will also be the ‘greenest’.

However, this is a measure only of the potentially harmful emissions a car could produce when driven from A to B. It doesn’t measure the environmental impact of making the car, or the impact it could have once you are bored of the colour or need to update it and start looking for something new.

• Tata Steel India and its key subsidiaries have successfully countered the closure of the domestic market during the lockdown period by leveraging its global network and exporting more than 1.46 million tons during the quarter. This also limited the decline in our India steel deliveries to 27%QoQ as compared to the 55%QoQ drop in overall India steel demand.
• Tata Steel’s operating level has recovered to 90% by end June 2020 and has since then increased further to 95%, catering to both domestic and export customers.

The news comes just weeks after the UK Government announced a scheme to modernise the nation’s schools. The rebuilding programme will start in 2020-21 with the first 50 projects supported by more than £1 billion in funding. Further details of the new ten-year construction programme will be set out at the Government’s next Spending Review. 

The government aims to reduce the construction costs and whole life costs of buildings by a third, while seeing those same buildings delivered in half the time and with a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from the construction sector. 

The new contract includes significant upgrades of IT equipment – both hardware and software – and will further bring together different systems so the company can manage them more effectively.
As well as major improvements for employees and customers, the new contract will also reduce the European business’ IT costs by almost 30%.
In recent years, the company has created a range of digital services to improve its business and service to customers – everything from a new supply chain platform and new digital sales platforms to a new production system.