Engineering specialist Sheffield Forgemasters has submitted a pre-planning application for a groundbreaking 30,000-square-metre machining facility on brownfield land in Sheffield’s Meadowhall district.
The new facility, set on a 16-acre plot at Weedon Street, will become one of the world’s most advanced large machining sites, supporting the Ministry of Defence-owned company’s production for the UK defense program.
Construction is scheduled to commence in Q4 2024. The building will span an area equivalent to 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools and will house 17 new machines, including some of the most advanced five-axis Vertical Turning Lathes ever produced.
Gareth Barker, Chief Operating Officer at Sheffield Forgemasters, commented, “This pre-planning application outlines an ambitious project to establish a facility delivering some of the world’s most advanced large-scale machining capabilities. Repurposing this derelict land, once integral to Sheffield’s engineering heritage, represents a significant investment for the city and the UK, creating highly skilled engineering jobs for decades.”
Barker added, “The building will be an iconic landmark, surpassing even the scale of the UK’s largest open-die forging line currently under construction at our adjacent Brightside Lane site.”
The plans detail a main building with a footprint of approximately 272.5 x 110 meters and a height of 32 meters, situated near the River Don. The design aims to complement the historic aesthetic of the company’s existing structures. Adjacent to the main facility, a proposed 3,500-square-meter building will feature a state-of-the-art test-house and a dedicated training area to foster the next generation of engineers.
Gareth emphasized, “Our endeavor in Britain’s industrial heartland is monumental. It will not only mitigate supply risks for the UK and the trilateral AUKUS defense programs but also offer our employees some of the most technologically advanced and rewarding working conditions.”
The machining facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2028, delivering unparalleled speed, accuracy, and efficiency in manufacturing large, complex nuclear-grade components. All machines are custom-designed for Sheffield Forgemasters by WaldrichSiegen, a specialist in machine tools.
Both the new forging line and the proposed machine shop will serve defense and commercial sectors, including civil nuclear power, and will cultivate a new generation of engineers and designers trained in Industry 4.0 technologies.
JLL represented Sheffield Forgemasters in the site acquisition and planning submissions.