Historic steel giant, Sheffield Forgemasters, has published aerial images of its vast industrial developments in the North of the city.
The Ministry of Defence-owned business which is celebrating its 250-year anniversary, is building a 30,000 m2 machining hall and a new 13,000 tonne forging line at its Brightside site, with the latest images showing the foundations and advancing steelworks.
As the company reaches the end of Q1 2026, both plots are progressing on schedule, with steelwork set to commence in the next few weeks on its Forge site, and steelwork on its New Machine Shop site by the River Don already dominating the Meadowhall skyline.
Gareth Barker, Chief Operating Officer at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “It is a fantastic testament to the legacy of this company that as we celebrate 250 years of history, we are actively reshaping the traditional heartland of UK steelmaking.
“Our New Machine Shop site will create one of the most advanced large-scale machining halls of its kind, anywhere in the world, with the outline of the building already looking incredibly impressive and which can be clearly seen from the M1 motorway.
“Foundations are completed on our new Forge building and we will begin steelwork assembly from April, which will add to the vista of great manufacturing facilities once again showcasing Sheffield’s manufacturing prowess to the wider world.”
Sheffield Forgemasters was formed in 1983 with the merger of Johnson, Firth Brown Ltd and British Steel’s River Don Works on Brightside Lane in Sheffield, where the Naylor, Hutchinson Vickers & Co enterprise located in 1863, having previously operated at Millsands in the city centre.
The company has traced its heritage back to 1776, the year of American independence, when George Naylor helped his cutlery manufacturing partnership to move into steelmaking through the construction of a crucible steel furnace in the city.
Sheffield Forgemasters still operates from the River Don Works site and is now expanding onto the former Cammell Laird Brightside Steel Works at Weedon Street, where the new Machine Shop will be located.
The 13,000 tonne press and building is under construction on the North side of Brightside Lane, adjacent to the Midland Mainline railway, with both projects forming the backbone of a £1.3 billion recapitalisation programme to underpin UK defence programmes.
Key partners on the recapitalisation project include McLaughlin & Harvey, Arup, Bond Bryan, Turner and Townsend, JLL, Ipsum and JVA Bentley.
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