Liberty House launches steelworker recruiment drive with South Yorkshire expansion

Liberty House, the international industrials and metals group, is launching the first phase of a new recruitment drive for steelworkers in South Yorkshire.

This announcement comes only a month after the group completed its £100m takeover of Tata Steel’s Speciality Steels business earlier this year, which secured 1,700 existing jobs and created of a further 300.

Liberty Speciality Steels is now looking to expands production of this business, starting with the process of hiring the first 40 new staff, most of whom will be assigned to the bar mill at Rotherham.

This site is doubling the number of shifts in order to boost output from 78,000 tonnes to 137,000 tonnes a year.

Some of the new recruits will work at one of Rotherham’s two electric arc furnaces, which will also be increasing production, while others will be based at the company’s mill and finishing lines in Stocksbridge.

Further recruitment, including new apprentices, will take place in September and employment will continue to grow over the next two to three years.

Speciality Steels produces a range of steels, alloys and components used in the manufacture of vehicles, aircraft, industrial machinery and equipment for the oil and gas industry. More than two thirds of its products are exported worldwide.

Jon Bolton, chief executive of Liberty Speciality Steels, said: “We have big ambitions for the future so we’re eager to start the process of getting new people on board to help us move ahead with our plans.

“We’re looking for recruits from a broad range of backgrounds, especially adaptable people from the locality with a positive attitude and a hunger to learn about steel.

“We’ve got many highly-talented and experienced people on the team here who will train newcomers for key roles in an exciting industry entering a promising new era.”