Heathrow has announced the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 7 Steel UK at their facility in Cardiff.
The MoU seeks to reinforce Heathrow’s ongoing commitment to using UK-made steel as the airport expands, with an aim to deliver a ‘significant boost’ for UK manufacturing in the process.
Heathrow signed the UK Steel Charter last year, and this MoU builds on the airport’s wider support for the domestic steel industry. It is set to enable a Framework Agreement and, ultimately, a long-term contract between both Heathrow and 7 Steel UK, strengthening a relationship that spans more than twenty years.
During this time, 7 Steel UK has supplied more than 150,000 tonnes of steel to Heathrow, including for the construction of Terminal 5, and will continue to support the airport’s future growth plans.
Heathrow’s proposed expansion is anticipated to drive demand for UK steel, in turn protecting jobs, supporting a new generation of steelworkers and injecting millions of GBP into domestic supply chains.
Current projections estimate that 60% of the economic growth benefits from building a third runway at Heathrow are expected to be delivered to regions outside of London and the South East, with Wales set to benefit directly as a result of the MoU.
Heathrow’s expansion is estimated to require up to 400,000 tonnes of steel – roughly a sixth of the UK’s annual production. The agreement between Heathrow and 7 Steel UK is intended to send a signal of support, and is anticipated to provide confidence for future investment in Welsh steelmaking.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said:Expanding Heathrow would deliver real opportunities for people across the whole of the UK. This MoU is one such example. If expansion is approved, the MoU we signed today can help revitalise UK steelmaking and drive economic growth in South Wales.
Our ambition to put Welsh-made steel at the heart of our expansion plans will create a pipeline of future orders for UK steel, and we hope that the scale of our project will lead the way for other large infrastructure projects to follow suit.
We’re proud to be strengthening our relationship with 7 Steel UK, with businesses across South Wales and to be helping to drive a new era of industrial growth.
