Vinci signs £138m Sheffield steel forge expansion deal

​Vinci Building has clinched a £138m contract to deliver the UK’s largest open-die-forging facility in Sheffield.

The building will accommodate a new 13,000-tonne forging press capable of pressing larger ingots

The project involves erecting a13,800 sqm building to house the ground breaking forging facility at Sheffield Forge masters’ historic site on Brightside Lane.

Vinci has been working under a preconstruction agreement for nearly two years and is now starting to pile foundations ahead of erecting a40m-high superstructure and installing building services and a water pumping station for the facility.

Gareth Barker, chief operating officer at MOD-owned Sheffield Forge masters, said: “We are progressing with a transformation of this business, to create one of the world’s most advanced large-scale engineering facilities, providing decades of jobs security and training for high-technology careers.”  

Sheffield Forge masters is investing heavily across its site to support growing demand for defence work.

John Roberts, managing director of Vinci Building, said: “Signing of this contract brings together three years of tireless work by the team to develop the design and price for Sheffield Forge masters.

“It gives us the opportunity to step up our social value activities to deliver a positive legacy for the people of Sheffield. I look forward to seeing progress in the coming months.”

The forging line will service defence and commercial work in sectors such as civil nuclear power, creating a new generation of engineers and designers, trained to work with Industry 4.0 technologies.

It will be complemented by a proposed new machining facility, housing some of the world’s largest and most advanced five-axis Vertical Turning Lathes.

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Written by Aaron Morby at Construction Enquirer