UK: Hanson reopens GGBS grinding plant

Hanson has re-opened its ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) grinding plant at Teesport Docks in Middlesbrough, UK, creating 20 new jobs.

The plant was mothballed during the recession in 2009, but the upturn in construction activity prompted Hanson to reopen the site. The raw material was originally sourced from the nearby steel works, which has now closed. In future it will be imported, helping to sustain the docks.

Site Manager, Duncan Felgate, said: "It has taken nine months to get up and running again. One of the main problems we had to overcome was to replace all the copper wiring, which had been meticulously stripped out by thieves."

The GBP2m project to re-open the site was completed on time and on budget, and the new staff have all been put through a comprehensive technical and operational training programme. Some of them have returned to Hanson having been at the works before it was mothballed, but the majority are new starters.

Hanson sells its GGBS under the Regen brand name and operates a further two UK production plants at Purfleet in Essex and Port Talbot in south Wales.