News: Tata Steel raises speciality product prices following increased demand

Tata Steel is raising prices of its South Yorkshire-made engineering bar and aerospace products.

Tata Steel Speciality will increase base prices of its engineering bar products by up to 10% on all orders acknowledged for delivery from April 4. It will also increase base prices of aerospace products by 5% on all orders acknowledged for delivery from July 1.

The group raised prices for its aerospace products by between 4% and 10% in January in a move that was accepted by the industry.

The steel, predominantly stainless and low alloy grades, is used in landing gear and aircraft engines including the landing gear of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, as well as other latest generation aircraft.

Richard Bell, Commercial Manager at Tata Steel Speciality said: "We have been increasing production of engineering bar and aerospace steel products to meet rising demand levels throughout 2010.

"Supply chain inventories have returned to more normal levels following the economic downturn, and the recent demand increase is a result of end-users increasing their output."

Tata Steel Speciality has been a leading manufacturer of aerospace steels for more than 60 years and supplies special steels to aerospace component manufacturers around the world from the company's South Yorkshire sites at Rotherham and Stocksbridge.

Investment in 2005 saw the Rotherham site at Aldwarke become the focus for steel making, casting and rolling of specialist steels. The steel is manufactured at the Rotherham site before undergoing further refining at the Stocksbridge plant to improve the quality.

In November, Tata announced that it was investing £6.5m in new high-tech equipment at its Stocksbridge plant in South Yorkshire, safeguarding 2,000 jobs at Rotherham and Stocksbridge.

Ealrier this month, the Indian company announced that profits for the quarter ending December 31 were 112% higher than the profits in the same period last year.

Tata Steel Europe website

Images: tatasteeleurope.com