WHEN Motherwell’s Dalzell plate mill reopened last September, it marked a new chapter for an industry which just 12 months before had been on its “last legs”.
In 2015, Indian megacorp Tata Steel announced plans to mothball the forge, paying off the 270 staff who toiled in the plant, where, for decades, generations of workers had produced the steel plate used to help Scotland lead the world in shipbuilding, construction, mining, oil production and heavy vehicle manufacture.
At the time it looked as if that was it for Scottish steel, and the end of an era for an industry that in many ways defined that part of the country. But in a deal brokered by the Scottish Government, the Dalzell factory and another mill, Clydebridge, were bought by Liberty House.
It was a huge risk for Nicola Sturgeon’s Government, who agreed to buy the plants from Tata before selling them on.
Last September when she opened the plant, the First Minister recalled how bleak it had looked: “I can’t really adequately sum up in words how delighted I am to be here. I visited Dalzell the week after Tata made the announcement that Dalzell and Clydebridge were to be mothballed and that day, although there was a real determination on the part of everybody to do everything we could to find a new future for these plants, there was also a real sombre mood around.
“To be back here with such a buzz about the place and see so many people back here in employment and a really bright optimistic future ahead for steel-making in Scotland is such a privilege.
“Eighteen months ago, the outlook here looked very bleak indeed, the steel industry looked as if it might be on its last legs in Scotland, but we made a commitment to the workers here that we would leave no stone unturned. That is the approach we took and I am delighted to say we have kept that promise.”
The first-quarter GDP data released yesterday showed Scottish manufacturing growing, with metals manufacturing recording a substantial rise of more than seven per cent, down almost entirely to the re-opened plant.
There was also growth in output in refined petroleum, largely from Grangemouth, although economists from the Fraser of Allander institute cautioned against reading too much into the 12 per cent growth there in what is an “especially volatile” statistic. They added that a “growing return to confidence in the oil and gas supply chain” had also helped to the final growth figures.
Other sectors of manufacturing, including food and drink, also bounced back from a weak 2016.
“All these positive factors have happened to coincide with each other during this quarter, helping to pull up overall growth quite significantly,” Fraser of Allander said in a blog post.
They added, that Scotland was still some way from being completely out of the woods, saying: “While positive, it is entirely possible that a number of these factors will only have a temporary impact on the quarterly results. Key will be how sustainable the pick-up is in the months ahead. We’d urge caution in dusting down the bunting and streamers just yet”.
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