Port Talbot works produces slab steel of the type used for car bodies, white goods shells etc.even for tinplating at Trostre tinplate works for canning food.
Engineering grade steels are produced at smaller facilties.
At our works - private not BSC- we made engineering steels. 40% of volume to general producs like angles, flats etc. Feedstock to nut and bolt producers. Spark Plug grade steels etc..
We also made low alloy steels for gearbox components, car driveshafts....at one point there was a good chance that any car seen would have our steel in it. Even foreign makes.( not body panels or subframes though).
The changes to aluminium or non metallic bodies on cars is a reason for tonnage downturn in part. Certain steel plants are at risk because they are designed to make a limited range of steels.
Port Talbot continuously casts slabs that are cut to length and rolled into coils supplying sheet/ flat steel markets.
Engineering steels are usually concast to billets for sunsequent re-rolling to sections or cut and forged to components. This results in flexibility and better chances of maintaining market.
The loss of Port Talbot will devastate the region, not just the town due to large numbers of people losing work. As with pit closures. I know a number of people in Tata plants and emotions are running high. There are no and unlikely to be enough jobs for those losing out. It is going to create another round of areas falling into poverty. Redundancy and retraining money will be short term only.
Steels of other types will still be made in the UK but the large volume of Port Talbot types lost.
