Tata Steel has unveiled a new high-tech robotic welding line at its Automotive Service Centre in Wednesfield, West Midlands – the largest in the UK.

One of only a few in the world, the new robotic welding line trebles the site’s capacity to produce tailor-welded blanks – special sheets of steel made from different thicknesses. These steel parts – often used for car door panels – enable manufacturers to make lighter vehicles with lower emissions, while boosting miles per gallon.

The new production line is the fastest, biggest and most efficient in the UK. It can weld more than a thousand car parts every hour with the steel being shipped to car makers across the UK, and new orders now being won in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Tata Steel plays a key role in the UK automotive manufacturing industry which last year built 1.7 million cars, almost 80% of those being exported. The new line is the latest phase of Tata Steel’s £20 million investment in the site where it employs 525 people and also supplies steel to key industrial markets such as construction, mining and earth-moving equipment as well as domestic appliances. The new production line has seen 14 new jobs being created.

Bimlendra Jha, Chief Executive of Tata Steel’s UK operations, said: “Our Wednesfield site is the largest steel distribution and processing facility in the country, and the only UK facility of its kind supplied by a domestic steel mill. This investment in the latest technology means we remain at the leading edge of automotive steel supply in the UK.”

Tata Steel’s automotive activity stretches over a number of the company’s European sites. In the UK, the company manufactures steel at Port Talbot, Wales, before galvanising it at its world-class “Zodiac” plant in Llanwern, Newport, Wales. The steel is then either supplied directly to vehicle manufacturers, or further processed at sites like the company’s Automotive Service Centre in Wednesfield.

Malcolm Boyles, Managing Director Distribution UK & Ireland, said: “The latest investment in the Automotive Service Centre greatly increases our capabilities and means we can offer our automotive customers a complete, highly-specialised service. It will also support our export business to Germany. Our unique capability, not currently present in the highly competitive German market, offers design and manufacturing freedom for the premium brand manufacturers there.”

Notes to Editors
Tata Steel’s Wednesfield Automotive Service Centre has multi-metal capability and can process both steel and aluminium

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For further information:
Contact Damien Brook on +44 (0) 7818 588545 or email damien.brook@tatasteeleurope.com 

About Tata Steel’s European operations
Tata Steel is one of Europe's leading steel producers, with steelmaking in the UK and Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across Europe. The company supplies high-quality steel products to the most demanding markets, including construction, automotive, packaging, lifting & excavating, energy and aerospace. Tata Steel works with customers to develop new steel products that give them a competitive edge. The combined Tata Steel group is one of the world’s largest steel producers, with a steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and 75,000 employees across five continents.