Marcegaglia Stainless Sheffield to invest £50 million in new Electric Arc Furnace creating 50 jobs

The Prime Minister confirmed in a statement today that Marcegaglia Stainless will be investing £50 million to build a new Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) to upgrade its existing site in Sheffield. The new ‘state of the art’ EAF will increase annual plant productivity to over 500,000 tonnes of stainless steel products, bringing efficiency and environmental improvements, and creating 50 new jobs. The existing EAF has been in place since 1977, producing stainless steel by recycling scrap steel. The new operation will be in implementation phase during mid-2026. This will be undertaken by Primetals Technologies. Marcegaglia Stainless Sheffield produces semi-finished stainless steel, including billets, blooms and slabs, as well as stainless downstream wire rod and bar products. 

Commenting on today’s statement from the Prime Minister on steel sector investment by Marcegaglia Stainless Sheffield, UK Steel Director General, Gareth Stace, said: 

“The investment by Marcegaglia Stainless Sheffield to renew its Electric Arc Furnace delivers yet more highly positive news for the UK steel industry. Coupled with the investment agreement for Tata Steel’s Port Talbot site last week, this brings a much-needed injection of funds into the UK steel sector, which will transition it into a more efficient and decarbonised industry. All that’s needed now to make these investments count is for the Government to deliver the competitive business landscape and level playing field that our steelmakers need for a bright future. A good start to address competitiveness is to increase compensation from network charges on electricity to 90%, up from 60%.” 

Notes to Editor

The UK steel sector: 

• Produces 5.6Mt of crude steel a year, equivalent to 70% of the UK’s annual requirement (annual demand of 7.6Mt in 2023, of which 40% was met by domestically produced steel)
• Employs 33,700 people directly in the UK and supports a further 42,000 in supply chains
• The median steel sector salary is £37,315, 26% higher than the UK national median and 35% higher than the regional median in Wales, Yorkshire, and Humberside, where its jobs are concentrated
• Directly contributes £1.8 billion to UK GVA and supports a further £2.4 billion
• Directly contributes £3.4 billion to the UK’s balance of trade 96% of steel used in construction and infrastructure in the UK is recovered and recycled to be used again and again.

For further information about the steel industry, please see the UK Steel Election Manifesto, 2024 press pack, Why the UK needs a strong steel sector or the 2024 UK Steel Key Statistics report.