Forgemasters

infobox Organization
name = Sheffield Forgemasters


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formation = 1805(originally)
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status = Plc
purpose = Engineering
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location = Sheffield, UK
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website = [http://www.Forgemasters.com www.Forgemasters.com]
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Sheffield Forgemasters is a heavy engineering firm located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The company specialises in the production of large steel castings and forgings, as well as rolls, ingots and bar.

History

The company was established in 1983 from the merger of Firth Brown and British Steels River Don Works Forging operations, as a public company. Their buildings now dominate the Brightside area of East Sheffield. The company can trace its heritage back to the start of the steel industry in Sheffield in the 1700s. The firms of Vickers, Cammells, and Armstrong-Whitworth were all Nationalised to form British Steel in the 1960s.

The Company has had a chequered history due to the cyclical demand for specialist forgings & castings.

Capabilities

The Company specialises in forged and cast parts for suppliers to the engineering, nuclear, oil, petrochemical, and process industries world-wide.

Sheffield Forgemasters currently has the capacity for pouring the largest single ingot (570 tonnes) in Europe. The two forging presses in use can exert a pressure of 2500 tonnes and 10000 tonnes on a billet of steel. The 2,500 ton press dates back to 1897 and was originally steam powered, latter being upgraded several times to its current hydraulically operated state.

heffield Flood

The company was severely affected by the Sheffield Floods of 2007, when the works were under several feet of water, but after a massive clean up effort was back in action within weeks of the devastation. [ [http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/business/Forgemasters-back-with-39never-again39.3043910.jp Forgemasters back with 'never again' warning - Sheffield Telegraph ] ]

Expansion

Due to increasing demand for their specialist services the firm has ordered an new 4,000 ton forging press to increase the range of forgings they can supply (26 February 2008). [ [http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/business/Sheffield-Forgemasters-invests-6m-as.3817564.jp Sheffield Forgemasters invests £6m as demand soars - Sheffield Telegraph ] ]

Iraq Supergun Scandal

On 11th April 1990 customs in Middlesbrough seized parts of what were believed to be parts of a massive 'supergun' on a ship bound for Iraq. It was revealed that parts of the gun had been manufactured by Forgemasters who stated that they had been told that the pipes were to be used in a petrochemical project. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0D6103BF93BA15753C1A964958260, New York Times article]

Misc

The company gave their name to the producers of the first Warp Records release, WAP001 "Track With No Name" by Forgemasters. Forgemasters were Rob Gordon, Winston Hazel and Sean Maher, who went on to release other records on Warp and other labels separately.

References

External links

* [http://www.sheffieldforgemasters.com Sheffield Forgemasters]
* [http://www.warprecords.com Warp Records]
* [http://www.discogs.com/label/Warp+Records Discogs entry on Warp Records]