New Thai owners of former Corus plant at Redcar to add 1,000 jobs

Around 1,000 posts at the former Corus steel plant in Redcar, UK are expected to attract 10,000 applicants starting today.

In August 2010 Corus, the European subsidiary of Tata Steel said that it would sell its mothballed Teesside Cast Products (TCP) unit in the UK to Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), Thailand's largest steel producer, for about $500 million (£321 million).

Nearly 1,700 people had lost their jobs when Corus, Europe's second biggest steelmaker announced in December 2009 that it would close the loss-making TCP unit after an international consortium comprising Marcegaglia, Dongkuk Steel Mills, Duferco Participations Holding and Alvory pulling out prematurely in May 2009 of a long-term purchase contract, that committed the consortium to buying about 80 per cent of the plant's production for 10 years.

This led to the mothballing the Redcar blast furnace, Lackenby steelmaking and the South Bank coke ovens, belonging to Teesside Cast Products (TCP).

Thai firm Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) bought it six months later and has said up to 1,000 new jobs would be created. The company is accepting online applications for a range of jobs.

The plant would see its blast furnace being fired up again before the end of the year.