Development of Clydebridge |
|
1885 |
Quotations being sought for steelmaking plant by Neilson family |
| 1887 | Works completing and staff being taken on. Works comprised 6 off 25 ton acid open hearth furnaces, a steam driven cogging mill, 2 reversing plate mills driven by 2 steam engines, a plate shear. |
| 1888 | Clydebridge Steel Company starts production. |
| 1887 - 1917 | Original Works |
| 1907 | 2 x 50 ton furnaces added and a Heavy Plate Mill (No3) driven from No1 Plate Mill |
| 1907 - 1912 | Works closed down due to depression in trade, under an agreement with the Scottish Steelmasters' Association |
| 1915 | Taken over by David Colville, & Son Ltd. |
| 1917 | New No 2 Melting Shop, consisting of 5 off 80 ton Fixed Furnaces & No2 Cogging Mill built using stands from No 3 Plate Mill. |
| 1920 | 2000 employees |
| 1922 | New 3 High Plate Mill erected. Started 20 February 1923. |
| 1930 | 850 employees, 137,690 tons consigned |
| 1931 | Became Colvilles Ltd. On 1st January 1931 |
| 636 employees, 87,392 tons consigned | |
| 1932 | 507 employees, 83,521 tons consigned |
| 1933 | 705 employees, 108,816 tons consigned |
| 1934 | 905 employees, 231,805 tons consigned |
| 1935 | 958 employees, 232,824 tons consigned |
| 1936 | Pipeline laid for conveying blast furnace gas from Clyde Iron Works. |
| 1137 employees, 276,293 tons consigned | |
| 1937 | No 2 Cogging Mill steam engine replaced with electric motor drive |
| 1937 | 1141 employees, 297,729 tons consigned |
| 1938 | Hot Metal process started, & 600 Ton Metal Mixer & Melting Shop Extension built. |
| 1067 employees, 249,863 tons consigned | |
| 1939-40 | New No1 and No 2 blast furnaces at Clyde Iron Works. |
| 1320 employees, 259,557 tons consigned | |
| 1942 | 300 Ton Tilting Furnace (R) added. |
| 1600 employees | |
| 1950 | Further extension to Melting Shop with 2 off 350 Ton Tilting Furnaces & 5 Soaking Pits. |
| 1951 | New
Slab Cogging Mill 1st Stage Company Nationalised |
| 1955 | New Slab Cogging Mill 2nd Stage |
| 1958 | 3 off new 150Ton Fixed Furnaces built to replace 5 off 80 Ton existing Furnaces in No 2 melting shop. No1 melting shop was then closed. |
| 1960 | Work started on new 4 High Plate Mill. Started rolling plates August, 1962 |
| 1962 | New Light Plate (rotary) Shearline erected. Finished in 1963 |
| Heat Treatment plant installed (1 Furnace) | |
| Shot Blast plant installed | |
| 1964 & 69 | Heat Treatment plant extended (2 Furnaces) |
| 1966 | Schloemann No 2 End Cut Shear installed |
| 1967 | Nationalised |
| 1973 | Drever & Burns Roller Pressure Quench installed in Heat Treatment Plant |
| 1974 | 2,410 employees (Clyde Iron Works - 1,191 employees) |
| 1975 | Heat Treatment plant extended (2 Furnaces) No 1A added, New Large Transfer Car Roller Table |
| 2,900 employees (peak was 3,500 employees) | |
| No 4 & 5 Heat Treatment furnaces installed | |
| 1977 | November, Clyde Iron Works, No 2 Melting Shop & Slabbing Mill closed. Melting Shops produced 20million tons 1888-1977 |
| 600 employees | |
| 1978 | Heat treatment & Slab Reheating furnaces converted to natural gas and microprocessor control. New No 1 furnace installed (servo controlled oil hydraulic winch drive). New, second, shot blast machine installed |
| Radio
active plate thickness gauger installed at 4 high plate mill Heat treatment pull across tables installed (ex Consett) |
|
| 700 employees | |
| 1980 | Steel Strike 2 January - 2 April 1980. 800 employees |
| 1982 | November 12th - Plate Mill & Light Shearline closed (announced 20 Aug 1982) |
| Heat Treatment Plant and Heavy Shearline Retained, 150 employees. | |
| 1986 | 120 employees |
| 1989 | 100 employees |
| 1990s | Heavy Shears plant (except leveller) removed and replaced with oxyplane cutters |
| 1999 | June, British Steel and Hoogovens merge to form Corus |
| 2006 | 20 October, India's Tata Steel agreed a £4.3 billion takeover bid for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group. |
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