Steetley Dolomite invest £1.2m in Durham plant

Steel industry firm, Steetley Dolomite is investing £1.2m in its Durham plant following new funding from HSBC.

The Thrislington Lime plant near Durham is set to receive a Heatcatcher system, to make the facility more energy efficient.

Nottinghamshire-based Steetley Dolomite specialises in supplying dolomitic lime and dead-burnt dolomite products for the steel industry.

The company is investing £10million across its two plants after securing a £4m funding package from HSBC’s Nottinghamshire Commercial team to support the investment

The Heatcatcher system, which will go to the Durham plant, helps recycle heat from the rotary kiln to produce low carbon and cheap electrical power.

It is forecast that this system will save enough energy to power 150 homes a year and will be operational in September.

Steetley Dolomite is also investing £8.2 million in a pre-heater system at its plant in Worksop.

The system works by recycling heat created during the production process and will lead to a 30% reduction in Steetley Dolomite’s electricity and fuel costs, as well as cutting its CO2 emissions.

In addition, the pre-heater will increase production by a third, or 50,000 tonnes of industrial dolomite a year, all of which will be destined for the export market.

Work on the project has begun and the pre-heater is expected to be operational by September.

Steetley Dolomite, launched over 50 years ago and was acquired from Lafarge’s UK lime business by its current management team in 2004, it currently employs 125 people, 10% of whom are apprentices.

They currently export 45% of the industrial dolomite it produces to overseas markets, such as Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

However, the company believes the investment will drive exports to India and the strong growth economies of South East Asia.and help propel its current turnover of £34 million a year to over £40 million by the end of 2014.

Managing Director John Carlill said: “The worldwide steel industry is doing well on the back of strong demand from the developing economies and we are in a strong position to supply steel producers because we have continued to invest in our products and production techniques.

“This investment has three core benefits – it reduces our production costs, it lowers our CO2 emissions and it helps increase our output, which is a significant advantage to the business.

“HSBC’s support has been key to the project and it’s fantastic that the bank is supporting Nottinghamshire businesses looking to expand their international presence.”

Steetley Dolomite became an HSBC customer last year and worked with International Commercial Manager Paul Lynam on this latest financing.

Nick Holloway, HSBC Nottinghamshire Area Commercial Director, said: “This investment will help drive Steetley Dolomite’s business forward and enable them to compete more effectively on a global scale.

Steetley are demonstrating that even in a generally difficult economic environment there are still opportunities for UK companies and HSBC are look forward to working with Steetley over the coming years.