The best in Europe
Company bosses want the Long Products division which includes Scunthorpe to be the best in Europe by producing 3.1 million tonnes of liquid steel and making GBP 1.8 billion from sales.
Overall Tata Steel Europe is looking to produce 14.9 million tonnes, a rise of 800,000 tonnes on 2011-12, and make a pre tax profit of GBP 450 million.
Mr Jon Bolton, the director of the Scunthorpe based Long Products hub, told the workforce that "Our vision is to be the best performing producer in Europe. To do this, we have set ourselves a target of being financially viable by the end of March 2013. We have to prove we can stand on our two feet."
It has been revealed that the Scunthorpe workforce last year helped to achieve savings of GBP 60.4 million, GBP 400,000 above the target.
Hundreds of cost saving ideas
At the same time hundreds of cost saving ideas are still in the pipeline and are expected to lead to even more cash being saved over the coming months.
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In 2011, improved margins were also achieved for sales of premium products such as plates and high performance rail made in Scunthorpe.
New challenges this year
Mr Bolton said that "We've reached our savings targets, reshaped the way we operate to become more flexible and cost effective and at the same time made great improvements in our operational performance. However, we cannot rest on this success, we have new challenges this year including taking responsibility for improving our safety performance. It is essential to our success that we maximize the efficiency and reliability of our operations. In our annual plan we are aiming to improve quality and yield across all our products and assets. Without team effort we won't be able to deliver what we have promised. Our plans will stretch us all but with everyone making a contribution I know we can do it."
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The Indian owners of the Scunthorpe steelworks have rewarded employees for their efforts by giving them an extra bank holiday on June 5th 2012 to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Last week employees were also paid a quarterly bonus of just over nine per cent, the highest in recent years. 2012 pay award details have yet to be revealed.
