Forgemasters unveil plans for landmark machining facility

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Sheffield Forgemasters has unveiled plans for a new landmark machining facility on brownfield land close to Meadowhall.

The company has submitted a pre-planning application for a 323,000 sq ft facility.

Located on a 16-acre plot at Weedon Street, the facility will form one of the world's most advanced large machining facilities, supporting the Ministry of Defence-owned company's manufacture for the UK defence programme.

With work on the site planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2024, the building will cover a space equal to 12 olympic-sized swimming pools and will contain 17 new machines, including some of the largest and most advanced five-axis Vertical Turning Lathes ever produced. 

Adjoining the main construction is a second, proposed building, featuring a test-house facility and a dedicated training area, to transfer vital skills to the next generation of engineers.

Gareth Barker, Chief Operating Officer at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: "The pre-planning application covers an ambitious new project, to create a facility which will deliver some of the world's most advanced, large-scale machining capabilities.

"Creating this new facility on derelict ground, which was once part of Sheffield's engineering past, is an amazing investment for the city and for the wider UK, which will create highly-skilled engineering jobs for decades to come.

"The building is set to become an iconic landmark and the sheer scale of the endeavour is actually larger than construction of the UK's largest open-die forging-line, which is underway on our adjacent Brightside Lane site."

The machining facility is set to be operational by the end of 2028.

All of the new machines are bespoke to Sheffield Forgemasters' requirements, and are already being designed and built by machine tools specialist, WaldrichSiegen.

Barker added: "The scope of what we are creating in the centre of Britain's industrial heartland is truly monumental and will not only de-risk supply for the UK and trilateral AUKUS defence programmes, it will provide some of the most technologically advanced and rewarding working facilities for our employees."

JLL acted on behalf of Sheffield Forgemasters for the site acquisition and planning submissions.