Tata Steel's hot strip mill in Port Talbot, South Wales has recently been upgraded with a view to improving the quality of the steel products produced there.
The mill services a number of markets including automotive, engineering, construction and domestic appliances.
The main focus of the upgrade was a £25 million 'reversing rougher' which transforms a 9-inch (23cm) thick slab of steel into sheet of less than an inch (2.5cm) thick. The equipment is believed to be the most powerful in Europe.
The upgrade follows investments totalling more than £250 million in state-of-the-art steelmaking and processing technology at the South Wales operations.
Hridayeshwar Jha, Tata Steel’s strip products UK hub director, said that Tata's investments have created a stronger, more efficient and more reliable platform from which the company can meet the needs of its customers.
“We took the opportunity of this summer’s maintenance shutdown to upgrade a number of other plant areas in order to further improve production of high-value steels and their delivery to customers," said Jha.