LSUK Newspaper_Steel News_Issue 2_2023

STEELNEWS

November-December 2023

Issue 02

The internal newspaper for Liberty Steel UK

Left to right - Ed Heath-Whyte, Marian D’Auria and Scott Jackson

COP28: Leading the debate on decarbonisation of the steel sector This December, LIBERTY Steel Group is sponsoring the World Climate Summit - The Investment COP28, the world’s leading forum for business and investment-led solutions to climate change. Two LIBERTY Steel UK case studies will be presented by Scott Jackson, Works Manager for LIBERTY Aldwarke Cast Products, and Ed HeathWhyte, Head of Environment and Sustainability LSUK, at one of the side events “The Worldsteel Breakthrough Technology Conference”.

Why is COP relevant to us globally, and what do we hope to achieve?

Marian D’Auria, LIBERTY Steel Group’s Head of Risk and Sustainability, addresses this question:

Battle against Energy Cost LIBERTY’s energy saving initiatives

“COP brings together world leaders to agree on how to address climate change. And COP28 in Dubai comes at a critical time. Climate impacts are being felt across the world, with unprecedented wildfires, floods, storms, and droughts.

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The UN’s global stocktake report, released a couple of months ago, shows that much more must be done to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and limit warming to well below 2 degrees. So, COP28 presents a critical opportunity to put the

Business performance across sites

world on a more sustainable path. We should all be following discussions at COP this year with interest because the outcome will affect our day to day lives.

One of the significant things to look out for this year is the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake. This measures progress towards the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to below 2 degrees.

Scientists have shown that it is crucial to slash emissions this decade if we are to have any chance of achieving this target, and so far, the consensus is that

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we need to do more and do it faster. We have the ambition of being carbon neutral by 2030 for this very reason.

Aside from progress on emissions, other things likely to get attention are: Energy transition and the pathway to developing the huge volumes of renewable energy needed in a net-zero world. Food systems transformation, including both emission and biodiversity impacts – so, what targets and technology do we need to reduce the impact of feeding the planet.

Continued on Page 4

Stars of Steel Recognition Awards for LSUK employees are back!

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STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

Message from senior leadership production at Speciality Steel UK sites, serving strategic aerospace, energy, and engineering supply chains.

And I am pleased to see the good progress made in this direction.

Dear colleagues, At the beginning of this year, we established a clear plan to develop our core GREENSTEEL operations and enhance productivity and competitiveness throughout the rest of the group. Our main priority became focusing on high-value alloy steel

Numerous activities on sites to reduce aerospace bottlenecks, the CN30 self-help energy reduction program, successful external audits by Safran, Rolls-Royce, CARES, ISO14001, and other local initiatives prove that we, as a team, are shaping a better future for this company and the steel industry worldwide. I want to thank each of you for your contribution and the efforts you make to meet the targets.

The work on the business plan for LSUK in 2024 is still ongoing. We have support from our customers who

choose LIBERTY Steel, among many others, for its high premium quality. We will continue working hard on improving customer service to become the preferred company in the aerospace market.

As always, our commitments to health and safety, carbon neutrality, continuous improvements, and exploring new business opportunities that contribute to the success of LSUK remain unwavering.

However, we must be very efficient and strong in revealing all our inner resources and huge potential to sustain the challenges we face. But I have no doubts that together we will manage it.

Thanks again for your support, and take care!

Toker Ozcan, CEO Greensteel EMEA

challenges in terms of both cost and workforce.

Dear colleagues, Our industry has been in the news of late with some of the other big UK steel players floating their plans to convert from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces (EAFs). EAFs are the future of a decarbonised UK steel industry, though as we’ve seen, the transition will mean significant The largest consumers of energy are our Electric Arc Furnaces in Rotherham, which at their peak demand can draw over 100MW, a level equivalent to the requirements of 100,000 homes. However, the rolling mills and other equipment also draw large quantities of energy and operate for longer periods. So, to achieve efficient production and cost reduction, we must identify all possible resources and areas for improvement. This requires the active involvement of all LIBERTY managers and staff on-site to tackle this challenge and do everything possible to reduce costs.”

Ways to Reduce Energy Costs

Win the Battle against Energy Costs As we approach winter, it’s time to talk about energy saving initiatives and what LIBERTY Steel UK, as a business, can do to reduce costs.

But first, let’s look at the bigger picture. High UK energy prices have long been a major drag on the country’s industrial competitiveness and while the Government has made some welcome policy changes, UK energy costs are still above competitors in continental Europe. Many UK steel producers, LIBERTY included, have been funding losses during the past decade to maintain operations and employment. With the current Bills Discount Scheme due to end in March, the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 22 November is an opportunity to confirm both that the ‘Supercharger’ elements for energy intensive industries will apply from April 2024 and that Government will go further in

creating a competitive business environment for steel and other strategic industries.

“Energy costs in the UK are higher than those in Europe for steel manufacturers throughout the year, but during winter, prices UK steel manufacturers pay rise even further,” explains Trevor Rhodes, Energy & Utilities Manager for Procurement.

Whilst we will no longer have to respond to specific Load Management Notices to control our connection costs, we still face higher overall costs at specific times of the day. In particular, costs can more than double during the peak hours from Monday to Friday between 4 and 7 pm. This is why we need to plan our operations very carefully, considering numerous

factors. Ideally, we will target production during hours when the energy cost is the lowest, but it’s not always possible due to customer order deadlines or long process times.”

Chief Financial Officer John Phillips states, “Efficient and accurate planning is key to the success of any business.

When we were working on the business plan for 2024, we had to consider many factors to reduce our costs. The total cost of energy for the Speciality business can exceed £50 million per year, which equates to a million pounds per week. This is a substantial amount of money.

Whilst steelmaking will always be an energy intensive activity, there are always opportunities we can seek to improve efficiency and lower our costs.

Martin Gannon, Energy Optimisation Manager, emphasises, “We regularly monitor and analyse energy consumption across all departments and facilities to be the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly. We always adjust our consumption to match the current production level. If we are not in operation, we switch off all equipment that is not currently needed.

This helps us reduce energy consumption and our bills.

However, we must be careful to avoid the risk of switching off critical units and then incurring additional time and expense to bring them back online. This is not an easy task and Works Managers in various departments are responsible for this job. For example, we achieved significant savings in Thrybergh, where the team efficiently isolated the plant during downtime by switching off the air compressors and other equipment when not required. This reduced their average energy baseload from 650 kW to 450 kW.” Another good story is a trial to optimise gas usage on the boilers on Rotherham site.

The Engineering Department

It’s made me proud that LSUK already operates two EAFs at Rotherham – a fact I feel isn’t remarked on often enough. The UK’s high energy costs are a challenge for the whole industry, but LSUK consistently shows it has the skills and experience to run EAFs safely, efficiently and expertly. We’ve shown this year how by targeting high-value customers in defence, aerospace and energy we can be profitable along the whole value chain.

The success of this more focused approach has made us confident in our ability to plan for the future – and more certain than ever that LSUK has first mover advantage as the UK embraces electric steelmaking.

Jeff Kabel, Chief Transformation Officer, LIBERTY Steel conducted these trials to test different operating regimes for the boilers. In the first weekend, they kept three out of four boilers operating at low fire and one in automatic mode to maintain the main pressure.

In the following weekend, they drained the mains and isolated the boilers, allowing the pressure to drop naturally.

They pressurised the boilers on Sunday and recharged the mains on Monday, using 1651m3 of gas instead of 8793m3. This resulted in potential overall savings of approximately £5120. The next trial will aim to test another regime, this time reducing the line pressure to 80 psi and using only one boiler as an intermediary during colder weather.

Martin Gannon says: “We oversee all facilities and take every opportunity to consume energy carefully and efficiently, but it’s everyone’s responsibility. If someone hears compressed air leaks, it’s crucial to report these to your line manager or the engineering function to enable repairs to be planned, compressed air leaks have a significant energy cost.

Let’s not forget the small steps that everyone can take to contribute to the energysaving initiative. All energy costs the business, and the cheapest units of energy are those we do not use. Easy actions such as turning off lights when a room is not in use or ensuring machines are switched off or isolated when not in use, will all contribute to a more efficient business.

Some actions may be simple, while others may require more planning and teamwork. If you have any ideas or initiatives that can make our production more energy-efficient, please contact your managers and submit your proposals for their consideration.”

STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

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SSUK Business Update

Focus on Safety, Environment, and Production Dear colleagues, In this edition of the newspaper, you will find updates on our business and safety performance, CN30 initiatives, health campaigns, social projects, cost-saving initiatives and community engagement. Hope you enjoy reading them; they give a flavour of what is happening within departments and across the various businesses.

Discussions on next year’s plan are still ongoing. However, I can say it will focus mainly on the efficient delivery of high-value, high-end products, producing steel primarily for the aerospace market. This is where we see the greatest benefit to the business. We are also currently exploring engineering bar markets, which products will suit us, and geographically which areas we should be focusing on.

Our current target area is to deliver steel to customers as fast as we can so we have initiated significant

debottlenecking exercises; you can read about them in detail in this issue. But a brief outline would be we are targeting all areas of the business and its assets to enable a smooth flow of material from the furnace to the end user.

The ultimate goal is to process and dispatch a minimum of 500 tons of steel per week. If we achieve this, we will have taken a significant stride forward. We are not there yet but have already seen a 30% improvement in this area.

So, to sum up our top 2 priorities in the coming year are: - Safety remains our no. 1 priority; our performance is currently not great with slips, trips, and falls, hand and finger injuries being way too high. We must focus on these areas in the new year.

- Ensuring the highest quality of our steel, fostering continuous improvements on our sites and

delivering the best service to our customers will be our other main focus area. We have to realize we are no longer “big steel” manufacturers. What we are is a producer of high-quality material, and to this end, our focus has to be on yield, quality, and delivery.

To all you steppers, the challenge has now finished. If you took part, well done! Hope you got some positives from it; our team finished mid-table but had a great time taking part. Two people from rival teams even found time to go walking at lunchtime and have vowed to keep it going!

Finally, I suspect this will be the final newsletter of this year, so can I take this opportunity to wish you, your family, and loved ones a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Steve France, Operations Director for Speciality Steels

Rotherham Steel & Bar, LIBERTY Merchant Bar

HVM news

Greg Clarke, Head of Operations -

Neil Hanson, Head of

Operations HVM / Brinsworth

RS&B and Merchant Bar Safety Performance

Unfortunately, we have recorded four injuries since our last update. One incident led to a lost time injury, where a contract employee slipped and hurt his back. All injuries were entirely avoidable and I encourage all of our team across the sites to keep focused on hazard awareness.

Environment Great news from the Rotherham site – it has successfully continued certification to the ISO14001 environmental standard. A big thank you to everyone involved in maintaining and improving our standards across the site.

Production Highlights ACP: Melting every week since the start of October and currently (at time of writing) progressing through the aerospace campaign #23.

Plans being progressed for steelmaking into December.

Performance is generally improving as the melt shop sees a more consistent level of operation. Yield performance has been strong with some excellent work carried out across the area to ensure we maximise the number of right first time ingots cast. Some delays to operations caused mainly by the heavy rainfall resulting in T-Furnace steel car well becoming flooded.

TCM: Produced during October for the aerospace and hire

work markets. The team have had to respond to challenges on mix of product and the mill set ups required to roll this difficult plan. The Thrybergh team are working hard on white coating each rolling with root cause analysis for any off plan issues. Availability and yield performance very good.

Manning in non-rolling periods being redeployed across the site to support business wider needs. Thrybergh planned for rolling December.

BBR: Kieserling turning line availability continues to improve reaching output target levels.

The Engineering team across the bar assets are responding well to breakdowns.

LMB: Both mills at Scunthorpe continue to be paused. The teams on site are focused on safety improvements and are also continuing with CI/ Lean training for a number of employees in conjunction with North Lindsey College.

Forward Focus As we approach the winter break, safety remains our top priority. Let’s ensure aerospace processing controls for right first time operations, monitor and improve energy usage across plants, and actively plan for steelmaking in 2024.

Your commitment to safety and operational excellence is crucial.

Together, let’s make every effort to keep our workplace secure and thriving.

Here in HVM, we have encountered a number of issues both operationally and in our Health and Safety (H&S) performance. In terms of H&S, unfortunately, we experienced one accident in October where a team member tripped over in the mill. This incident resulted in a RIDDOR report due to the nature of the injury. To date, our statistics remain a concern, and we will continue to work hard to improve the accident rate in all areas.

We also had to call out the fire service after a CO2 discharge in remelt due to a faulty high-voltage breaker coil. Investigations into this event highlighted issues with the CO2 systems’ operations, which have since been rectified. The learning from this incident has been shared across the business through our engineering meetings and safety alerts. On a positive note, our HNM reporting continues to identify issues and implement actions, and the walk-the-floor containment actions are on plan.

Operationally, the ongoing operating model is still restricting consistent asset loading, resulting in issues with flow. However, the teams are working hard

with the supply chain and our Rotherham assets to improve flow throughout our processes. Vim & Remelt had a problematic month falling short due to a number of engineering issues on both the ESR & VAR furnaces simultaneously consuming resources. However, the biggest operational delay was a result of a carbon boil-over and water leak on the VIM during the refining stages of a melt on October 13th.

This event took the furnace offline for the remainder of the month due to the significant amount of repairs required. Repair time is lost waiting for the furnace to cool sufficiently to enable a safe release of the crucible. Once access was gained, repairs began on the furnace. This process safety event resulted in an evacuation of the area until safe, as per our process safety procedures, which were put into effect effectively and safely. A significant amount of metal from the boil-over had to be removed from the internal parts of the structure, including the vacuum offtake, where further damage was found on compensator bellows. The crucible also suffered significant damage to the connections and coils, which will be repaired in due course when the crucible is systematically stripped to investigate any contributory factors to the

failure. Unfortunately, this leaves only two units currently in service, creating a level of fragility in the operation in the meantime. Vacuum and tightness checks proved difficult to maintain during the recommissioning of the furnace due to seal and leak issues in numerous areas prior to returning to service. Rolling across HVM & NS routinely achieves the weekly plan, and the cobble performance remains stable at Stocksbridge and Brinsworth overall.

Downstream plant continues to achieve and exceed their respective capacity declarations, with improved utilisation on key assets.

Despite significant engineering challenges across the plant, progress is still being made in key areas, and efficiencies continue to be explored in all areas.

Work has now begun in creating an Aero cell in West Bank with equipment movements from Spring Bank. This will aid flow and improve efficiencies in ops.

The future state will include the relocation of the ultrasonic tanks and other equipment as needed. Looking forward, we will continue to build on the changes and efforts made so far within operational areas, linked also to improved planning and asset loading, which will help in resource planning and customer deliveries.

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STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

Teamwork

Working Together to Improve Customer Deliveries Over recent weeks teams at Stocksbridge and Rotherham have been developing plans to improve customer deliveries. Our product mix is currently virtually all high quality aerospace which is good for business but does result in high loads and moving bottlenecks for some processes at Stocksbridge and Bright Bar Rotherham (BBR).

Teams at Rotherham and Stocksbridge have therefore held workshops to identify opportunities to alleviate these bottlenecks and increase flow, deliveries and ultimately receive the final customer payments quicker.

Rotherham Developments

West Bank Finishing of All Aerospace Work – Work is underway to start the process of transferring the capability to saw and finish Aerospace work which is currently done in Spring Bank to a new shared home in West Bank. This would bring all Stocksbridge finishing together under one roof. Initial Trials of the existing saws in West Bank is taking place week commencing 6th November, with a view to moving the packing gantries throughout November. A sawing review will then follow and may be supported by moving the Kat 9 saw.

The focus for the teams at Rotherham has been to utilise resources from under loaded areas in terms of assets and people, and use these to either transfer processing from Stocksbridge to Rotherham or increase the capacity and throughput on processes such as the Kieserling line and in-line ultrasonics in BBR. Four workstreams have been prioritised as follows.

Processing of 180mm secondary bar billets at Rotherham instead of grinding, resampling and ultrasonic testing at Stocksbridge. Teams in the Rotherham Bar Processing Centre (formerly known as Aldwarke Finishing Banks) are being refamiliarized with trials using material from the recent campaigns, the billets can then be transferred to Thrybergh Bar Mill as per their usual process route.

Increase bar processing through Thrybergh and BBR – current process routes are being challenged to transfer load from Stocksbridge routes to underloaded or more suitable routes through Thrybergh and BBR. In some instances this could result in an additional roll at Thrybergh from 180mm billets in the same way as standard sec bar, however there is also potential to reduce multi-pass turning giving us a saving in yield and opportunities to relieve bottlenecked assets at Stocksbridge reducing the current lead time to the customer. A great example of transferring processes from

ranged from: emergency purchasing capability to support equipment reliability, to how we can plan for better utilisation and level loading through the bottlenecked equipment, through to why certain rework processes are being added to routes and reviewing some of the previous decisions to ensure they are still the correct things to do in this current business environment.

These projects are being reviewed into workstreams and more details will follow shortly.

Stocksbridge to Rotherham is a recent successful trial in turning Maraging 250 on the Kieserling instead of the usual 29 lathe at Stocksbridge where delays and processing issues are routinely experienced on this difficult to turn product. The resulting financial savings due to yield benefits are potentially huge.

Secondary Bar capacity uplift at BBR is being enabled through asset improvements and increasing from 10 to 15 shifts. This will result in both increased capacity and reduced machine delays providing adequate headroom for future predicted loads and removing the bottleneck for Kieserling and line ultrasonics at BBR. Aerospace Testing Uplift - having enough capacity to test the material in time is a vital enabler for improving flow through our system and another

example of the flexibility of our teams to support areas of high processing demand. The reorganisation to develop an SSUK testing facility using the resources and skills from across both Rotherham and Stocksbridge sites to create a more efficient structure will provide an increase in shift levels at Stocksbridge. The recent audit by Nadcap was successful in approving the Rotherham Testhouse for Aerospace testing. The next step is to gain approval with our customers which the team are working on. This will increase the number of tests per week across SSUK by about 70%.

Stocksbridge Developments A cross functional workshop has been held at Stocksbridge to generate ideas for improvement project to support the downstream processes from the swelling demand for the processes. Ideas

A later phase to this work in 2024 will be to bring the UT tanks into the building with the aim to make the process more streamlined resulting in a enhanced customer experience.

Scrap Segregation – is being relocated into two locations. The first move is to relocate the scrap pens into the former melting shops scrap bay and utilise the shop crane. This should improve working conditions for the team and also save nearly £90K per year on the hire of the 360 mobile scrap mover. Target for this move is to be in and working by January 2024.

The second part of the move is to relocate the VIM Revert and VIM Feedstock cutting cell into one location in West Bank 2 Bay. This will give the team enough sawing and shotblasting capacity to stop the material being cut at other locations throughout the business.

CN30

COP28: Leading the debate on decarbonisation of the steel sector Continued from Page 1 And, importantly, climate finance: How can we ensure funds flow towards projects and locations where it is needed to reduce emissions, but also to build the adaptations and resilience that is going to have to be developed to cope with climate change.

What do we hope this COP will achieve? Action! Everything points towards a need to get faster in our efforts to reduce the impact of climate change.

But we also need to do this thoughtfully, so I would also like to see more concrete development of the climate finance agenda and how we can support adaptation, resilience, and decarbonisation

in developing economies.”

COP28 is the great platform to showcase our green steel transformation across LIBERTY, and we are proud to present two LSUK case studies at its side event – The Worldsteel Breakthrough Technology Conference.

Scott Jackson will talk about EAF Production of safety-critical speciality steels and the use of alloyed steel scrap for low CO2 emissions steel.

Scott Jackson: “The manufacture of Aerospace Steels using steel scrap through the EAF process is not new.

However, future challenges

with low residual scrap availability and the subsequent achievement of very challenging specifications are something Liberty Speciality Steels recognises. My presentation explains the challenge and our strategy to mitigate future risks.

Although aerospace steel grades present significant analytical challenges, good scrap selection and scrap cleaning can reduce our dependence on low residual scraps.”

Ed Heath-Whyte presents the project “CO2 Reduction ‘Charge Carbon’ COAL to ECOKE”: “Trials of eCoke 100 took place during 2023 that included EAF operational changes. It’s a sustainable new raw material

that replaces anthracite, the main source of charge carbon in electric steelmaking. Results confirmed expectations, and melt analysis was good. eCoke100 has enabled Liberty Speciality Steels to immediately reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining the focus on high-quality steels. Our advance in Greensteel manufacture is not without compromise in the current market as key performance metrics were affected. Electric steel makers

have the ability to be truly Green if we think differently and accept that our future measures will not be the same as the past.”

The success of LIBERTY’s eCoke trials is a major step forward for our GREENSTEEL strategy.

The major reductions in CO2 emissions eCoke enables, without any downside to the production process, can help to further decarbonise our production and the wider steel industry.

STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

Strategy

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25 Years of ISO14001 at Speciality Steels Ed Heath-Whyte, LIBERTY Steel UK Head of Environment and Sustainability Back on 26th November 1998 British Steel Engineering Steels was certified to the new ISO14001:1996 Environmental Management System Standard.

CN30 Workshops Teams at LIBERTY’s Rotherham and Stocksbridge sites conducted CN30 workshops to establish roadmaps for achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

Since its first publication, more than 300,000 organizations worldwide have implemented an Environmental Management System following its requirements. ISO 14001 has become one of the most successful management standards used by companies worldwide to improve their environmental performance and save resources and money while gaining prestige among consumers.

Two key steering groups were set at both sites to oversee workstreams and identify all sources of emissions, along with ways to reduce them and the necessary actions.

In the period 1995 – 1998 significant improvements were made in particular at Stocksbridge Works with noise bunds and new cladding on buildings, new water treatment plants. In the years since we have made continual improvements in Environmental Performance both by investing in new environmental abatement such at Aldwarke 2 Water Treatment Plant, Waste management yard and processing, the Hazardous waste Treatment plant, new oil storage tanks and behaviour change through training, EMS Procedures and Internal Auditing.

The focus is on low cost initiatives, including energy efficiency campaigns, shutdown plant procedures, CN30 site-wide campaigns/communications, technology efficiency using data capturing, renewable energy adoption, net-zero transport, and supplier engagements. The experts in these groups have documented all ideas and are now working on developing projects for implementation.

We will keep you updated on the progress in the coming issues.

Did you know?

Liberty Steel UK IT Service Desk: Your 24/7 Solution for IT Incidents and Requests Dear colleagues, we would like to remind you that the IT Service Desk is the single point of contact for Liberty Steel UK IT users, managing all IT incidents and service requests, via telephone, e-mail and web portal.

T:

+44 (0) 114 282 5022

E:

it.servicedesk@libertysteelgroup.com

W:

libertysteel.nethelpdesk.com

They are available 24/7/365 days a year, with core operating hours from 6am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Business critical incidents (affecting site production, or causing significant financial, reputational or health and safety impacts) can be logged at any time, but please always call. Nonbusiness critical incidents can be logged outside of core hours via email or Web Portal, these will be picked up the next business day.

An IT incident is any issue

An IT service request covers any new

An incident can be logged via Telephone, E-Mail or Web Portal.

A service request must be logged via the Web Portal and is subject to IT Verification, Cost Centre or Data Owner approval.

that causes interruption or a deterioration in the quality of your IT service. For example, if you require IT advice, cannot log on to your computer, unable to print, access one of your applications or network resources.

ISO 14001 is an environmental management standard that provides a framework for organizations to manage their environmental impact. It was first published in 1996 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The standard was developed in response to the growing global concern about environmental issues, which led to the United Nations reaching an agreement in 1992 to protect the environment by reducing the negative impacts of business activities

requirement for IT services. This includes, minor enhancements or activities the IT team and their support partners provide as part of ‘business as usual’ (BAU). For example, new starter hardware and access, activation of a network port, relocation of a printer, installation of software or provision of peripherals such as a monitor, keyboard or mouse.

There have been a few Environmental Managers and Engineers over the years, Allen Gorringe (Environment Director, Saint-Gobain), Jim Haycock (Ret) , Brian Jennings (Ret), John Rocket (Ret), Matt Travis (Director ENZYGO), Nick Finnigan (BSI Lead Auditor), Damon Tweedie (Head of Sustainability, Energy Australia), Neil Schofield (Head of Environment, Marcegaglia), Tom Hart (Property Manager, Redwing Estates), Richard Earl (Regulatory Inspector, Environment Agency), Jake Canfield-Hagyard, Jonty Brownlow and me.

The recent ISO14001 Audit at the Rotherham site resulted in no non-conformities raised which was an excellent result.

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STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

Introduction

Technical Transformation: A Unified Approach to Excellence LIBERTY Speciality Steels has recently undergone structural changes within the Technical Function to enhance its unified business approach, tap into synergies, and consolidate expertise from across the SSUK business units.

The newly appointed Head of Technical, Stephen Carey, brings extensive experience in Technical and Operational roles at both Stocksbridge and Rotherham. He began his journey in 1988 and has held various positions, including technical, operational, and project management. We met with Stephen to shed light on his team’s current role and goals.

Meet the team

The Technical team includes colleagues who are fully integrated into each manufacturing department, along with centralised roles that provide support to all areas of the business. The new Technical leadership team is as follows: Matthew Cutts, Works Technical Manager for Rotherham Steel & Bar and Engineering Bar. Matt’s team are site-based and cover steelmaking & casting, bar rolling and the extensive finishing and inspection operations at BBR and BBW. Mark Hesling, Technical Manager - Quality Assurance, is responsible for quality assurance services across SSUK, managing audit programmes and supporting the achievement of quality standards with bodies such as BSI, Nadcap, IATF and Cares.

Lewis Taylor, Product Metallurgy & Customer Technical Service.

Lewis’s team deal directly with our customers, handling technical enquiries and converting specifications into manufacturing instructions via the MDM team (Master Data Management).

This central function also manages product development trials and handles customer complaints, often relying on the forensic metallurgy team to adjudicate on responsibility for the reported defect.

Warwick Furness, Manager Testing Services, is responsible for the Analytical Laboratory and Test Houses at both Stocksbridge and Rotherham. As well as the physical preparation and testing of product samples, this team also ensures accurate and timely certification – we can’t deliver without a valid test certificate.

Matthew Danks, Quality Manager NDT is responsible for overseeing non-destructive testing services and standards across the business.

Matt leads a team of externally qualified specialists who play a crucial role in training our Quality Control inspectors and ensuring product integrity.

From left to right: Ben Scothern, Warwick Furness, Stephen Carey, Mark Hesling, Matthew Cutts, Matthew Danks, Lewis Taylor

- Stephen, what prompted these recent changes and what advantages do they bring to the business?

- The aim was to align the technical organisation with the recent structural changes in SSUK. The business now has a single Operations Director, Steve France, so it makes sense to have the technical function operate as a single organisation. This move centralises some activities and fosters cross-site collaboration, consolidating expertise where we have substantial knowledge and skills throughout the business. Our focus is on a onebusiness approach, with many developments being managed on a through-process basis, from steelmaking to rolling and finishing across multiple sites.

- What goals do you aim to achieve with your team now?

- Our top priority is to support manufacturing operations, ensuring consistent, highquality products without deviations from standard practices. Our high-quality reputation in the market plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining customers, reflecting the efforts of everyone involved in the business, not just the technical team. However, when deviations occur, we always step in to support the teams, to devise ways to remedy the problem and achieve a saleable product. It’s then important that the lessons learned are written into our processing instructions and shared widely through toolbox talks and “blue strip” notices.

to the final delivery of proven products.

We also focus on developing new products. For instance, we recently secured an order from India for a brand-new VIM-VAR grade, which will involve almost every area within the technical function in one way or another. Controlled product development trials will be designed by the central technical team, then managed through manufacturing by the works-based teams, with final product testing and evaluation conducted in the Test House and Forensic Metallurgy area.

The department’s goal is to project-manage such newproduct initiatives, from the initial customer interaction

The technical function also works closely with educational and research organisations. We have some long-standing collaborations with leading universities to foster new developments and product evaluations. Our in-house R&D team performs computer modelling work, for example to enhance casting and rolling processes and to predict material properties and metallurgical structure.

An example of our recent collaborative work is our partnership with the University of Warwick. The project developed a “digital twin” model of the Stocksbridge Mill

Another important goal is to maintain our quality accreditations. Our Quality Assurance Department works closely with external bodies like the British Standards Institute to ensure compliance with accredited standards.

We regularly undergo audits to meet these standards.

This is not just about paperwork; the auditors make detailed observations of the manufacturing operations and business processes and usually find only minor areas for improvement, which is a credit to everyone involved in all functions.

Ben Scothern, Works Technical Manager for HVM and Narrow Strip.

Ben’s team maintain and police the quality procedures for VIM, remelting, rolling (at Stocksbridge and Brinsworth), as well as the finishing operations, including heat treatment. which predicted the effect of the rolling pass schedule on microstructure evolution within the product and allowed us to optimise processing parameters to achieve a finer grain size.

the team at ACP successfully devised an alternative cooling and annealing strategy to prevent ingots from cracking when the stripping crane became unavailable.

- What are the main challenges your team currently faces?

- What do you enjoy most about your role, and what would be the message for your team?

- Challenges mainly relate to the stop-start nature of our operations, with intensely busy manufacturing periods leading to a large wave of material flowing through manufacturing areas. The priority is to get things right first time, to avoid re-work and scrap losses so that fully conforming products get to the customer on time.

The technical teams are there to support manufacturing in making quick decisions, especially when things don’t go to plan. In a recent example,

- I find immense satisfaction in tackling new challenges and pushing the limits of what our equipment, new and old, can do to create value-added products. We have a wellbalanced technical team, with valuable experience and some “new blood”, and a focus on continuous improvement. I believe that together, we can evolve a portfolio of highquality and profitable products in all parts of the business.

STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

7

The LIBERTY Recognition Awards 'Stars of Steel' are back!

Regardless of which function, department, or site you work in, this is your chance to celebrate your team’s achievements or recognise the tremendous efforts of a colleague.

Entries and nominations are open to all employees for work carried out in the past 12 months.

The categories are split into two sections:

• Team entries • Star nominations.

The closing date for all entries and nominations is December 22, 2023. Why not take a look at the categories and complete an entry form for your team? Or nominate somebody that you think deserves to be celebrated as a Star of Steel today.

THE CATEGORIES

Team Entries

These awards should be entered by teams of people who have implemented a project that made a positive impact on the business.

•

•

LIBERTY Steel UK has many talented employees and numerous initiatives worth promoting across the business. Three winning projects in the last GFG Chairman’s Excellence Awards are the best proof of it.

This time, we want to relaunch our internal recognition award to celebrate LIBERTY’s teams and individuals’ success who have gone the extra mile and made a positive difference to the business.

•

•

Steps to follow for a good entry - Provide a short description of the project or initiative and don’t assume any previous knowledge.

- Tell the judges how your project or initiative aligns with the nominated category – why it sits in safety, family or sustainability, for example.

- Help the judges understand what motivated the project, why it was needed – was there an incident, was it a continuous improvement

initiative or simply a good idea?

- Describe what you did and how you delivered it.

- Take the judges on a journey with you - tell the story of your project or initiative and include some of the challenges or hurdles you had to overcome – was it funding, timeframes, people? Importantly, what was the outcome? Was there a cost-saving? What were you able to stop or start doing

as a result? Was there a reputational, safety, customer, or community benefit or efficiency gains?

- Tell the judges about candidates who have shown initiative, made a big difference to the business or local community, helped others and presented the business in a positive light.

- Give specific examples of achievements to really show why your nomination is a worthy winner.

•

•

•

•

Partnerships – This award recognises the efforts of effective and respectful partnerships and cooperation that contributes to the success of LIBERTY and the communities in which we operate.

Economic – This award recognises initiatives that demonstrate an economic benefit to LIBERTY and its businesses while working in harmony with social and environmental sustainability.

Social – This award recognises initiatives, practices, and programs that have made a positive difference in the lives of people around us.

CN30 – Now more than ever, it is imperative that we address climate change and drive our CN30 ambitions for a sustainable future for industry and society.

This award recognises the work, big and small, that individuals and teams are making across the business to help LIBERTY achieve its goal.

Star Nominations

These awards are your opportunity to recognise the efforts and achievements of your colleagues. You will need to submit an entry on their behalf. You can also nominate yourself.

•

Submitting your Entry

There are two separate entry forms – one for ‘team entries’ and one for ‘star nominations.’ Entry forms are available for download from the Intranet main page. Simply complete the appropriate entry form and email it to communications@libertysteelgroup.com by Dec 22 2023.

Evolution – Sometimes change comes along gradually over time through continuous improvement; a never-ending cycle to achieve excellence, create efficiencies, and eliminate waste.

This award recognises the effort and outcomes of that work.

Revolution – Revolutionary change is dramatic; it’s a major difference in how things were done before. This award recognizes major change and its positive impact on business, social, or environmental outcomes.

Small Project, Big Change – This award recognises the small changes, improvements, and innovative ideas that can translate into a big impact on our people, our culture, our sites, our customers, and/or our products.

Safety – This award recognises individuals and teams that have a strong commitment to safety standards and practices, demonstrate safety leadership, care for others and promote safety.

•

Outstanding Achievement Award. For a team or individual who has blown you away with what they have achieved. The outstanding achievement award is reserved for those whose accomplishment has made a huge impact on our business this year. Their achievement could be related to multiple things including process improvement, customer focus, safety awareness/improvements, quality improvement, a cost-saving idea, a team-building activity, or stakeholder engagement. The main focus of judging will be on what makes it outstanding!

Community Champion Award.

•

•

For the team or individual that has made a significant contribution to the local community through volunteering, community work, or/and local fundraising.

Mentoring. Many of us have benefited from the guidance and counsel of mentors. This relationship requires trust, loyalty, commitment, friendship, and kindness. We recognise these people and value their contribution.

Rising Star Award. For an individual who has joined the company within the last 12 months and has showcased exceptional work, passion, and drive throughout the business’ transition period.

8

STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

Health and Safety Andrea Warren, LIBERTY Steel UK Head of Health and Safety

These last two months have been filled with various health and safety improvement actions and initiatives.

You can read in detail about some of these in this newsletter. For example, we have recently established a the health and wellbeing team who will help to organise events that promote wellness, such as the recently completed testicular and breast cancer workshops.

Regarding our H&S performance across LSUK, it’s noteworthy that overall performance has been good, with many sites, including Dalzell and Hartlepool, surpassing 12 months without a significant event. However, in some areas of Speciality Steels we are seeing a deterioration in our performance. Some of this relates to basics such as standards and housekeeping. In recent months,

Health Campaigns there have been several injuries due to slips, trips, and falls. We can all play our part in helping to prevent these. Let’s all contribute to each other’s safety by being mindful, promptly reporting, containing or eliminating any hazards that could lead to a slip, trip, or fall.

It’s crucial to ensure that when performing tasks, we don’t leave hazards for others. Please be mindful of everyday distractions that may cause use to lose concentration.

Additionally, in September, we reintroduced Senior Management Assessment Tours (SMATs) in Specialty sites. These are a valuable way of not only demonstrating our leadership but engaging in positive health and safety conversations.

They provide us with an opportunity to exchange and share best practices and discuss how we can work together to make our workplace safer.

Occupational Health Team help us to fight the flu!

As part of our health focus, the company provided a number of free flu prevention vaccinations for employees once again this year. For the first time in over a decade all of the available stock was used with our occupational health team in LSS administering flu prevention vaccinations during October 2023.

Thank you to the Occupational Health Team who visited Rotherham, Stocksbridge, Brinsworth, Bolton, Wednesbury and Performance Steels sites to administer the vaccinations and help protect our colleagues.

Early Detection Saves Lives The Occupational Health Team conducted a series of awareness sessions focusing on testicular and breast cancer. Live sessions were arranged to take place at the Brinsworth, Stocksbridge, and Rotherham sites, providing advice on how to perform self-checks. The team came prepared with anatomical models featuring life-like masses, offering attendees a better understanding of what to feel for and how to spot potential issues early.

As not all our sites have occupational health teams within their business, we are planning an online event on this subject at a later date. The specific date will be confirmed and announced soon. In the meantime, if you would like more information on this topic, please visit https://www.testicularcanceruk.com/ and https://www.breastcanceruk.org.uk/

Health

Distracted workers

Houskeeping

Improper footwear

Weather conditions

Mental Health

Game Changing Tips Have you ever considered our mental health as a steel ladle, carrying the fire of life?

This metaphor came to mind for one of our colleagues, Paul Needham, an Electrical Control Engineer for LIBERTY Speciality Steels. He attended the first GFG webinar about Mental Health hosted by Mark Butler and was inspired by his message.

Paul has offered his help as a mental first aider to anyone who needs to talk and get some help. You can read his story in full on the Intranet and get Paul’s contacts there.

In case you missed Mark Butler’s sessions online, you can watch them in recording on YouTube (https:// www.youtube.com/@Mark_Butler).

Mark is a mental health expert, strategist, clinical specialist, and best-selling author, specialising in upskilling individuals and organisations to deal effectively with mental health issues.

Mark has given two online sessions about Mental Health and Wellbeing

to all GFG employees.

He revealed ways of reaching out to those who struggle and asking questions in a proper way. He spoke about early signs of mental health issues such as lower than usual performance, visible changes in appearance, loss of hope, uncontrolled emotions, social isolation, etc. And he gave practical tips on how to help others.

Community support, therapeutic relations, and a sense of hope contribute to 85% of recovery from all mental health issues, with only 15% requiring treatment methods.

In his recent session, “Sleep, Diet, and Exercise,” Mark highlighted the necessity of reboosting our mental health with different techniques – playing, engaging in spontaneous activities that bring you fun, meditating, and breathing. These simple steps could be game changers for many people.

Mark Butler emphasised, “We need to normalise the conversation around our mental health. Every lightbulb will blow, every hard drive will fail with enough stress on it. We are no different! It isn’t weakness or a failing. Not talking about it is, though!”

Join Us on the Health and Wellbeing Team Protecting our health is just as important as protecting our safety.

On this page you can read about a number of health and wellbeing events that are planned or have already taken place in the last few weeks. To ensure that we are working on activities that best support improvements to our employees’ health we are asking if some of our employees would like to join our health and wellbeing team and become a Health and Wellbeing Champion.

The role of the health and wellbeing champion includes: •

helping us share information about wellness programs, resources, and support available to employees.

•

coming up with ideas for future initiatives and campaigns.

•

gathering feedback from colleagues about existing wellness initiatives.

We have received a number of volunteers so far but there is still time to join us, if you are interested in becoming part of our team please contact andrea.warren@Libertysteelgroup.com

Meet our new Health and Wellbeing Champions. Why not join us?

Paul Needham, Process Control, ACP

Stephanie Oldershaw, ACP, Engineering Planning

Ryan Jones, Shift Manager, Bright Bar and Thrybergh

Edgar Hopkin, Occupational Health, LSS

Tetiana Levchenko, Communications

Andrea Warren, Health and Safety

STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

9

Visit

Unlocking potential to transform the Manufacturing Industry

Careers

Impress, Inspire, and Empower How can we attract young people to the manufacturing and steel industry? That’s the big question, and the answer is simple: impress, inspire, and empower. That’s what we focused on when students from High Storrs School visited LIBERTY Specialty Steels in early November.

LIBERTY has established strong connections with this school through the GFG Foundation educational programme. In the past, LIBERTY employees Steve Shaw and Rob Reiss worked as mentors at High Storrs School and were delighted to welcome the students onsite, alongside their colleagues, to showcase the LIBERTY business.

Around 40 A-Level Physics students were eager to explore LIBERTY’s testing facilities, and we provided them with the opportunity to visit various areas, including the Test House, the Forensic Metallurgy department, the NDT facility, and the Chemistry laboratory.

The students were genuinely impressed by the significant role played by technical and quality specialists within our business.

These experts not only ensure the quality of steel and detect any deviations to provide customers with the best steel but also assist the operations team in enhancing the steel production process for greater efficiency, thanks to various scans, checks, and control methods in place.

Following their tour, the students had the opportunity to interact with some of our recent apprentices and learn more about the different career paths available.

James Hill, the Physics teacher from High Storrs School, expressed his gratitude for the visit, stating, “We genuinely

appreciate the tremendous effort the LIBERTY team put into welcoming us and guiding us through all the different test areas. Please convey my thanks to everyone involved. The Y12 students had a great time, and there was a lot of discussion about how much they enjoyed it, how privileged they felt, and some were given food for thought about possible future career paths. I think they were all pretty

stunned by the scale of the site.”

Robert Reiss said: “Today, we witnessed genuine interest from the students and received a lot of positive feedback from the teachers.

I believe that we’ve made a significant impact on both the students and the teachers.

Thanks to everyone involved in this remarkable event and for all the hard work you put in.”

In September LIBERTY Steel UK welcomed MP Miriam Cates alongside representatives from the Manufacturers’ Organisation Make UK and LIBERTY’s educational partner, Sheffield College.

Their visit aimed to explore strategies for attracting young talent to the British manufacturing sector and reshaping their perceptions of this vital industry. LIBERTY Steel UK, renowned for its apprenticeship programmes and partnerships with educational institutions, shared valuable insights during this visit.

MP Miriam Cates expressed her admiration for what she witnessed at the LIBERTY training centre, stating, “I am genuinely impressed by the dedication displayed by those who are learning here, as well as the experienced engineers who invest substantial time and effort in their training. LIBERTY, with its extensive history of successful training and apprenticeship programmes, embodies a strong commitment to the local community.”

Mick Hood, HR Director for LIBERTY Steel UK said: “I am absolutely sure that apprenticeship programs make a big difference. They’re not just about filling job roles; they’re about making our industry better.

Apprenticeships help us grow, learn, and innovate.

They’re like the building blocks for a stronger manufacturing sector. And we are proud to play a key role in achieving this goal”. *** LIBERTY Steel UK has a longstanding tradition of offering apprenticeship programmes for students. Over the past five years, approximately 120 apprentices have joined the company, with 22 being recruited this year alone.

This presents a significant opportunity for many of them to embark on prosperous careers in the manufacturing sector, serving as examples to attract more young individuals to this industry.

Claire Neilson, Manager of the GFG Foundation in the UK We were delighted to welcome the students to LIBERTY to give them an insight into industry and showcase the breadth of careers and opportunities that exist within our business.

One of the aims of the GFG Foundation is to open young people’s eyes to the opportunities that exist within their local community, and I’m sure that today’s fantastic event has been an invaluable experience for both the students and teachers.”

Partnership

LIBERTY & University Partnership for Steel Town Transformation In October, LIBERTY Steel UK hosted a group of researchers from Sheffield Hallam University, the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), as part of the South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre, along with their Swedish colleagues. The team is working on a research about understanding how both the steelworks and the place of Stocksbridge have changed over time and what the future for both might look like in a low carbon future.

Dr. Rachel Macrorie, Dawn Witherley, and Will Eadson visited the LIBERTY site in Stocksbridge and gained insight into its incredible history and potential. HR Director for LIBERTY Steel UK, Mick Hood, provided an overview of the LIBERTY business and its perspectives, reassuring the University team that we are happy to support them in this valuable project.

10

STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

Community

Strengthening ties Liberty Speciality Steels maintains strong ties with local communities and actively supports voluntary and charitable projects.

We’d like to remind you of the opportunities we offer.

School Engagement We work closely with young people in schools, colleges, and universities to boost our brand’s profile and attract and retain young talent. The Industrial Cadet program, supported by the GFG Foundation, plays a key role in engaging students from primary to A-level. The Engineering Development Trust (EDT) helps us identify schools for engagement activities, and we encourage our employees to serve as mentors, enlightening students about career prospects in the steel industry.

Ambassador Awards We recognise and support employees who hold significant roles in community projects or organisations through Ambassador Awards. To qualify, these projects must benefit the local community, and the award winner must have been working in an official capacity for the organisation. Additionally, the projects must have a positive impact on more than one person.

Awards available are to the value of £300.

To apply for this award, you need to complete a short application form available on the Intranet.

Supporting Employees: Sponsorship The company will support individual permanent employees with their fundraising. They can apply for sponsorship up to the value of £50 to assist with organised events like sponsored runs, skydives, midnight walks, etc., as long as these events have an impact on more than one person. Employees are limited to a maximum of two awards within a 12-month period and are required to complete a brief application form.

Community Partnerships We are renewing our community partnership strategy, which was initiated several years ago. This focused approach enables us to develop more proactive and closer relationships with selected community projects. It also raises the brand’s profile and awareness. These community groups are typically those we’ve collaborated with in recent years, spread across the locations of Speciality Steels’ sites, encompassing health, sports, and youth initiatives.

If you have any questions or need more information on how to apply, please get in touch with Tetiana Levchenko, Communications Manager, via email tetiana.levchenko@ libertysteelgroup.com or by phone 07771608404.

LIBERTY’s Ambassador Awardees Our recent ambassador awardees are Ryan Jones, TCM Shift Manager and Nick Moorhouse, Team Leader AMC. We asked them about their roles in the community and the awards they recently received.

RYAN JONES: - This is my fourth ambassador award with LIBERTY. I had previously applied for this grant to benefit local senior football teams, and it’s great that this scheme is back again.

This time, I applied to support Bramley Sunnyside Under 7 Girls’ football team where I am the head coach. It’s an excellent initiative by Liberty, and we are very grateful for this support. Our football club received £300, and we used it to purchase warm winter jackets for match days and training.

- What motivates you to support local communities, and what inspires you to do so?

- It’s important to me because I have a strong sense of

community, and I like to give back to my community. My community played a crucial role in my life, supporting me from my junior playing days to adulthood. I’ve seen how vital volunteers are to a community, and that inspired me to get involved. After my football career ended due to injuries, I decided to become a coach to give back. I started coaching when I was around 23 and began my coaching journey with a men’s Saturday football team, which was quite challenging initially.

But it taught me valuable management skills that I’ve carried into my professional life, especially in dealing with conflicts. I believe it has had a positive impact on my career.

- Is football a personal passion of yours, or does it hold a special place in your

heart for some other reason?

- Yes, football holds a special place in my heart, as it does for many people. It’s a family tradition, with my family dedicating themselves to football, following our beloved Sheffield Wednesday home and away and following England to various places from the Ukraine to Rio. The latter has been on hold for the last few years with being married and having kids, but me and my daughters have been following our glorious Lionesses. We were lucky to see most of England’s games in the tournament, and it was particularly special to go to the Final and witness the Lionesses winning the tournament with my wife and my girls – a very special day I will never forget. I’ve experienced the early mornings and travels for training as a child, and now, as a parent, I can understand the effort involved. But the joy it brings far outweighs the challenges. My dad managed a local football team and instilled in me a different

NICK MOORHOUSE: - I work as a spare coach for the New Bohemians Under 7 football club, where my child is also a player. I am extremely grateful for the support provided by LIBERTY, which enabled us to purchase raincoats for the kids’ team. This has significantly enhanced their comfort while playing outdoors.

I am really proud of the remarkable progress our team has achieved. In October, the boys participated in a mini-tournament and came out as winners, overcoming two

approach, focusing on fairness and enjoyment rather than a win-at-all-costs mentality. This is the approach I embrace in my coaching - winning comes with enjoyment, and passion develops from that. When I coach kids, I ask for three promises: 1. Play without fear and express yourself, 2. Work hard, and lastly and most importantly, 3. Have fun.

- Can you briefly describe your job at LIBERTY Steel? What are your responsibilities, and do you find your work enjoyable and fulfilling?

- I am currently the Shift Manager at Thrybergh. My main responsibilities include maintaining a high standard of health and safety, ensuring proper auditing and permits, overseeing production, and reporting any shift-related issues. I also monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure we meet our targets.

It’s a fulfilling role, and I find great satisfaction in combining my work at LIBERTY with coaching. other teams to lift the trophy.

As a team, they have shown remarkable improvement and brilliant teamwork.

Our goal is to keep the team together for many years to come. Our funding primarily relies on sponsorships and fundraising initiatives, such as raffles and a “spot the ball” game. Additionally, we operate a tuckshop during our home games, which contributes essential funds to sustain our activities. And LIBERTY’s Ambassador Awards became a great support for our football club.

STEELNEWS

November-December 2023 | Issue 02

Health Challenge

Congratulations!

To the Moon and Back

Honoring Years of Commitment

The Health Challenge 2023 concluded its final week on November 19. We are now ready to unveil the results, anounce the leaders across LSUK and congratulate them all.

It’s incredible, but over these eight weeks all participants across GFG have collectively taken 612,908,399 steps. This is equivalent to more than 12 laps around Earth and covers 130% of the distance to the moon!

This year, every team has demonstrated significant improvement, highlighting their commitment and determination to achieve better results. Shifting our focus to the LSUK results, we are delighted to announce that we have four leaders among the LSUK teams. Congratulations to all our steppers!

The “Red Hot Chili Steppers” from ACP Melting Shop (Stephanie Oldershaw, Simon Shaw, Nathan McCall, Gareth Hobson, Jordan Cooke) have taken the lead across the UK and got the incredible first position among all UK teams in the GFG Health Challenge.

Together, they’ve taken an astonishing 6,087,116 steps over the eight weeks.

Two other LSUK teams – Britpol from

Hartlepool (Ross Douglas, Amr Shehab, Magdalena Widera, Declan Murphy, Graham Hamilton) and Shop Floor Shufflers from Bolton (Steven Breward, Chris Edge, Ryan Glasson, Liam Coan, Mark Liptrott) – were closely competing.

“Stocksbridge Athletes Foot,” representing LSUK in the Premiere League, has made an impressive 5,615,260 steps, improving their last year’s result by 17%.

Stephanie Oldershaw said: “We have been able to achieve high goals by walking more throughout the day but splitting this out into smaller chunks, for example, a walk in the morning, at dinner, and then in the evenings. Instead of having indoor meetings, some meetings have been able to be walking meetings, such as 1-2-1s. Changing your mindset to be more active, such as not sitting for the entirety of your dinner but going outside. Every hour or so, get up and move for a minute if you have an office job”.

We will provide more accurate results once all steps are input.

11

Congratulations to our incredible employees who have dedicated their hard work and commitment to our company. We celebrate and deeply appreciate your long term service, and we look forward to many more years of collaboration and shared accomplishments.

45+ years of service in 2023 celebrate: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Gary Harrison, Team Member, Stocksbridge Billet Mill, 49 Christopher Beet, Team Leader, Engineering Services, Rotherham, 47 John Finkill, Engineering Technician, Stocksbridge, 47 Martyn Soame, Machine Operator, Aldwarke Machine Shop, 46 Julie Hindmarsh, Engineering Support Assistant, Rotherham, 46 David Spencer, Lead Engineer, Stocksbridge, 46 Graham Newton, Engineering Technician, Stocksbridge, 46 Neil Padgett, Department Engineer,

Stocksbridge, 46 9. Andrew Stronach, NDT Technician, BBR, 45 10. John Littlewood, Engineering Services Manager, Rotherham, 45 11. Carl Firth, Section Engineer, Stocksbridge, 45 12. Neil Barker, Engineering Team Leader, Stocksbridge, 45 13. Craig Brailsford, Section Engineer, Stocksbridge, 45 14. Michael Davies, Market Development Manager, Engineering Bar, 45 15. Philip Carr, Scheduling Lead, BBR, 45

40+ years of service in 2023 celebrate: Mick Hood, HR Director, LSUK, Wayne Buttery, Process Manager, Nigel Garbutt, Compliance Engineer, Mark Whiteley, Works Services Technician, John Taylor, Lead Engineer, Denis Waller, Engineering Technician, Mark Foster, Shift manager, Robert Tyson, Shift Engineer, Adrian Hepworth, Mill Scheduler, Ian Kemp, Storekeeper, Steven Burgin, Business Process Manager, Beverley Wade, Forensic Metallurgist, Martin Gannon, Energy Optimisation Manager, Richard Bland, Section Engineer, Jonathan Dabbs, Transport Manager, Beverley Allen, Receptionist, Richard Rylett, Shift Manager, Martyn Gambles, Process Control Technician, Michael Johnson, Electrical Technician, Stephen Tompkin, Department Engineer, Alison Bradwell, Commercial Process Manager, Paul Mannion, Shift manager, Peter Maycock, Compliance Engineer, Michael Clarke, Works Manager.

Team leaders - Barry Cusworth, Alan Harley, Ian Birch, David Lee, Gary Hague, Simon Downing, Michael Brears, Guy Davies, Paul Rushforth.

Team members - Barry Cusworth, Andrew Brunt, David Haworth, Glen Morton, Andrew Fletcher, Richard Canadine, Stuart Williams, John Haley, Graham Cooper, Philip Chafer, Peter Windle, Andy Bell, Robert Clarke, Graham Hanney, Paul Mills, David Vardy, Michael Vardy, Martin Swift, Gary Summerfield, Kevin Pickering, Gary Squires, Andrew Gill.

30+ years of service in 2023 celebrate:

Julian Schoch, LSUK Chief Commercial Officer, Stephen Atkin, QC Team Leader, Richard Foster, Supply Chain Coordinator, Wayne Hickman, Master Data Metallurgist, Simon Ball, Quality Manager, Sharron Lawton, Team Manager, Kay Hamby, CSR Stock Controller, Richard Sweeney, Lead MDM Metallurgist, Graham Goddard, QC Team Member, Mark Etherington, Shift manager, Russell Ainsworth, Shift QC, Simon Sverdloff, Business Relationship Manager, Gavin Brailsford, Team Member, Graham Button, Team Member, Martyn Green, Plant Manager, Richard Steed, HR Manager, Matthew Boreham, Production Manager, Glenn Archer, Senior Software Engineer, David Methley, Team Leader, Paul Bailey, Planning & Resource Manager, Christina Harold, HR Business Partner, Tim Hurd, QA and Compliance Manager, Graham Alderton, Technical Manager.

25 years of service in 2023 celebrate: Red Hot Chilli Steppers

Jamie Sykes, VIM Team Member, Lisa Gill, Property and Services Co-ordinator, Neil Rope, Team Member, Tim Hardwick, Manager Logistics, Andrew Newrick, Test House Technician, John Hall, Lead Engineer.

Crossword

Steel around us ACROSS

DOWN

3. _ _ _ _ in the deep (Adele) 5. Metal container for melting 7. Trader 9. Swathe 11. Lightest element 14. Incinerator 15. Unblemished 16. Are Friends _ _ _ _ (Gary Numan) 17. Chemical symbol Fe

1. Curve 2. Boil down 4. Prepare to compete 6. The Millers 8. _ _ _ _ Mickey (Suede) 10. Cost 12. Winding curve 13. 1850s steel pioneer 14. Part of whole

WE WELCOME YOUR LETTERS AND COMMENTS. Please direct all enquiries regarding this newspaper and send ideas for new stories to Tetiana Levchenko by emailing tetiana.levchenko@libertysteelgroup.com or calling 01709 826341.

Care has been taken to ensure that the contents of this publication are accurate, but LIBERTY Steel UK doesn’t accept responsibility or liability for errors or information that is found to be misleading.

Answers will be published in the issue No 3

Why will we work safely in 2024?

20 24 OUR REASONS

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10

11

12

13

14

15

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

28

29

30

31

1

2

3

25

26

27

28

29

30

1

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

1

2

3

4

5

6

30

31

1

2

3

4

5

LIBERTY Steel UK is the third largest steel manufacturer in the UK, with sites across England, Scotland and Wales.

WE ARE A GLOBALLY INTEGRATED SUPPLIER OF HIGH VALUE STEEL PRODUCTS.