A TIMELINE OF PORT TALBOT ’ S TATA STEELWORKS
Port Talbot ’ s relationship with steelmaking stretches back more than 100 years , with the first steelworks established in the town in 1902 . Through its heyday in the 1960s — when nearly 20,000 people worked there — and moving into the 21st century , the site was Tata Steel ’ s largest UK operation and is widely regarded as the crown jewels in Wales ’ economy .
• 1902 : The first steelworks at Port Talbot is founded
• 1923 : A second Margam works is completed
• 1953 : The third Port Talbot plant is constructed and becomes part of Steel Company of Wales
• 1950s : Employment at the works reaches around 18,000
• 1967 : British Steel is formed through the nationalisation of 14 different firms , then privatised in 1988
• 1999 : British Steel becomes part of Dutch-owned Corus
• 2007 : Tata Steel acquires Corus
• 2020 onwards : Growing emphasis on decarbonisation and transition to cleaner energy sources in steel production changes Tata operations .
30 September 2024 saw the last liquid iron tapped from Blast Furnace 4 at Tata Steel ’ s Port Talbot site – and the last steel from the traditional ironmaking route cast into slab as the company starts its transition to what it calls “ scrapbased , low CO₂ , electric arc furnace steelmaking ” in the UK .
In the move away from longestablished and conventional production practices , come 2027 , the site is set to be home to a £ 1.25bn ( US $ 1.6bn ) electric arc furnace . Expected to be the biggest of its kind in the world , this new kit will melt mostly scrap to produce more than three million tonnes of new steel each year .
118 December 2024