News: Energy minister meets MTL Group as they land another major contract

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne visited MTL Group's new 300,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Rotherham recently, to witness UK manufacturing at its best.

Following a £250,000 grant awarded to MTL Group in 2010 for developing the offshore wind supply chain in the UK, the Secretary of State was present at the £5m state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Brinsworth to support its manufacturing success in the offshore wind sector.


MTL Group is the market leader for supplying secondary steelwork and boat landing systems for offshore wind farms. The group has just been awarded another substantial export contract to supply boat landing systems for the North Sea. This new contract with WeserWind GmbH follows a deal announced in June to supply 97 boat landing systems to Aker Solutions, the Norwegian energy group, for Nordsee Ost, a German offshore wind farm.

MTL Group has worked closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to strengthen the UK's supply chain for secondary steelwork for the offshore wind sector. MTL Group has invested heavily in state-of-the-art machinery that meets the requirements of this growing sector. Investments included a new Twin Head High Definition Plasma Cutter, a Robotic Plasma Pipe Cutter and additional handling equipment.

The Rotherham facility also boasts the largest laser in the UK and a 640-tonne robotic press, which is the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world.

Huhne met with 16 new apprentices that MTL Group has recruited this year and heard how the company is developing young talent to help underpin its growth plans. The Minister also saw the new welder training school which welcomed its first trainee in September. 25 people are currently being recruited to pass though the school.

Chris Huhne, Energy Secretary, said: "I am determined that the UK obtains the maximum benefits from the green economy. So I was very pleased to hear of your recent export contract success, which follows your other success earlier this year. I am particularly impressed with the steps you have taken to bring forward the skilled staff that will be so important to us in the future."

Dr. Henry Shirman, managing director of MTL Group, added: "We are pleased to welcome the Secretary of State and express our thanks for the help that his department have given to MTL Group over the past year.

"Renewables offers a tremendous opportunity for UK manufacturing and it is an area where we are already seeing significant growth in our business.

"In the last six months we have increased our number of employees by 40 and now employ more than 350 people. The business continues to recruit skilled engineers and we will continue this pace of growth for the next six months."

MTL Group website

Images: MTL Group