A demolition project at Sheffield Forgemasters' Brightside Lane facility has cleared the way for the next phase of constructing the UK's largest open die forge.

Covering an area of 150 by 84 metres, the site is now undergoing piling work to lay the foundations for a 13,800-square-meter building. The new facility will house a 13,000-ton heavy forging press, furnaces, quenching pits, and cranes.

Partnered by Vinci Building, who have secured a £138 million contract to deliver the Forge building, Sheffield Forgemasters is undertaking a site-wide recapitalisation programme to produce a new level of technological advancements and production facilities in support of the UK’s defence programmes.

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Craig Fisher, Recapitalisation and Transformation Director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: "We are now at a notable milestone in our Forge project, with the site fully cleared and processed so that piling works can proceed.

"This moves the project into its next phase, which is where the pace of delivery ramps up."

Demolition and remediation works have been underway for the past seven months, including removal of internal steel structures, stabilising the ground, removal of any contaminants, processing more than 25,000m3 of spoil, and crushing 4,500m3 of old concrete to clear the site.

Working closely with VINCI Building, piling specialist Cementation Skanska will construct a 200 metre long secant pile wall for the new forge, between eight and ten metres deep. In total, 1,500 piles will be required for the project.

The forging line is set to be operational in the summer of 2027 and will be complemented by a new machining facility, which is currently being scoped, containing multiple versions of the world's largest, most advanced, five-axis vertical turning lathes and creating an unparalleled manufacturing facility.