Engineering specialist Sheffield Forgemasters has hosted a visit from the new Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, Rt Hon Amanda Milling MP.
Ms Milling, MP for Cannock Chase, met with leaders at Sheffield Forgemasters and was given a tour of the facilities to showcase the company’s pioneering work into civil nuclear power manufacture, its crucial role within the UK defence industry supply chain and its unmatched skills base.
During the visit, Ms Milling was briefed on the company’s leading role in a £10 million project, funded by the Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), under its Nuclear Innovation Programme, to industrialise electron beam welding for civil nuclear assemblies.
Rt Hon Amanda Milling MP, said: “I was delighted to visit Sheffield Forgemasters and see the great work being undertaken there. They are a fantastic example of how a company, which is steeped in such heritage, is looking to the future with their work in the nuclear industry.
“As promised at the General Election, we will level up and unleash the whole country’s potential. Sheffield Forgemasters are one such example of how a great Yorkshire-based company is helping to attract the most highly skilled engineers and drive forward the Northern Powerhouse.”
Sheffield Forgemasters is one of the largest employers in Sheffield with a workforce of 680, including highly skilled engineering specialists trained to create ultra-large, safety critical castings and forgings for a range of sectors across the globe and operates an award winning apprenticeship scheme.
David Bond, CEO at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We were delighted that the recently appointed Chair of the Conservative Party took time to visit our operations as part of her wider tour of Northern manufacturing facilities.
“It gave us an opportunity to show some of the major projects that we are involved in on behalf of the UK defence industry, but it also allowed us to showcase some of the technical developments we are leading, which really differentiate this business from its competitors.
“Our core ethos is in finding advanced engineering techniques to improve the manufacturing process for efficiency gains, component integrity and to overcome design constraints. This is what we excel at, and Ms Milling was able to see how we do that, first-hand.”
Sheffield Forgemasters has an engineering pedigree which traces back to the 1750’s through many famous Sheffield engineering names including Vickers, Cammel Laird, English Steel, Firth Brown and British Steel.
