Liberty House, new owners of Britain’s largest merchant bar producer, based at Scunthorpe, today (13th July) hosted a visit by local MP Nic Dakin, and pledged to get the business back on its feet without delay.

Mr Dakin, a prominent supporter of the steel industry for many years, undertook a fact-finding tour of the 145-worker plant only days after Liberty announced that it had bought the business out of administration.

The company has two fully-automated rolling mills at Scunthorpe and is Britain’s largest producer of merchant bar, which includes a range of steel bars and light sections for the construction, energy, infrastructure, oil & gas, shipbuilding and transport industries. The acquisition is designed to complement Liberty’s already substantial network of steel plants in the UK and enable the company to supply the market with an extensive range of steel products.

Senior Liberty representatives briefed Mr Dakin on plans to explore new opportunities for growth and investment once the business has been stabilised. Sean Parsons, Liberty head of external relations said: “The high-calibre workforce here and the breadth and quality of products they make are a major plus for the Liberty Group and will help us toward our aim to provide the market with a full spectrum of steels. We see a bright future for the Scunthorpe works within the group.”

The representatives also briefed the MP on the Group’s GREENSTEEL strategy which aims to maximise steel production from recycled materials using renewable energy.

Mr Dakin, who has represented Scunthorpe since 2010, campaigned prominently on behalf of the steel industry during the crisis which followed the closure of the SSI Teeside plant and major job cuts at Scunthorpe integrated works, now British Steel.

He welcomed Liberty’s commitment to the merchant bar plant and to the industry as a whole: “I am very encouraged by Liberty’s proactive and forward-looking approach to the steel sector and I will continue to press for a level playing field for the industry including action to reduce energy costs and boost investment in skills,” he said.

Liberty has been investing heavily in the UK metals, engineering and energy sectors over the past two years and the acquisition of Merchant Bar is one of three major deals announced by the Group this month alone. The Group now has around 5,000 employees nationwide, making it one of the country’s largest industrial employers.

Within the past week the GFG Alliance, which includes Liberty, was chosen as the successful bidder to buy the 5,500-worker Arrium steel and mining business in Australia.