Sheffield favourite for Polestar project

26 April 2004

Industry sources have given strong indications that the proposed Sheffield site for Polestars greenfield gravure plant will emerge as the favoured choice.

The information came to light as more details about the Sheffield location were revealed.

Polestar's development partner Gazeley has secured the site of the former Avesta steel rolling mills, off Sheepcote Lane in Tinsley.

A planning application has been submitted to Sheffield City Council for development of the site, in the heart of Sheffield's former industrial steelmaking heartland with the M1 motorway close by.

Up to 1,000 jobs will eventually be created at the selected facility, with development of the printing works scheduled to take place in two phases.

Each phase will generate around 500 jobs, and Polestar is hoping to secure government grants to back the project, codenamed "True North".

"We expect to make a decision in mid to late May, but either way we will have diggers in the ground by June or July," said project managing director Mike Young.

Polestar has also named Hell Gravure Systems and sister companies Kasper Walter and Bauer as the suppliers the new site's pre-press cylinder manufacturing equipment, in what will be an 8m (EUR12m) investment.

Although the Sheffield site is vying with a separate Gazeley development in Belgium, if chosen it would house one of the first fully automated cylinder production facilities in the UK.

The pre-press equipment will comprise of the latest K6 electromechanical engravers from Hell, high immersion electroplating equipment from Kasper Walter, cylinder storage with automated delivery from Bauer and workflow from Hell.

Italy's Donau Carbon Siri will supply the solvent recovery plant for the eventual site.