Vinci’s contract, valued at £138m, will support construction of a 13,800 sqm building, standing 40 metres high, to house the UK’s largest open-die forging facility at Sheffield Forgemasters’ Brightside Lane site in Sheffield.
Sheffield Forgemasters was nationalised in 2021 and placed under the Ministry of Defence. It has since begun a recapitalisation programme, putting a 13,000-tonne forge line for critical defence work.
Vinci has been on site since June 2022 delivering a package of enabling works and has started piling for the main contract.
Turner & Townsend is supporting Sheffield Forgemasters with services including project management, project controls and health & safety.
Gareth Barker, chief operating officer at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “Vinci Building undertook a competitive bids process to secure the Forge delivery contract and as the winning bidder, will now look to move the programme forward at pace.
“Each of these milestones serves to remind the wider UK that we are progressing with a transformation of this business, to create one of the world’s most advanced large-scale engineering facilities, providing decades of jobs security and training for high-technology careers.”
Vinci Building regional director Chris Winspear said: “Our team is making great progress on the new facilities which will deliver on UK defence commitments and support our social value commitments in Sheffield and South Yorkshire. The project further enhances our portfolio in this sector and once complete, will deliver a fantastic manufacturing facility.”
The forging line will service defence and commercial work in sectors such as civil nuclear power. It will be complemented by a proposed new machining facility, housing some of the world’s largest and most advanced five-axis vertical turning lathes.
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