Tata looks at two Black Country business sales

It follows a portfolio review by the steel group of all its businesses to assess the strategic fit and the future potential.

It has now begun a process of seeking buyers for five business units which supply products to niche markets, allowing the company to continue to strengthen its focus on strategic strip products and markets.

They include Engineering Steels Service Centre in Wolverhampton, which is a stockholder and processes engineering steels and employs 20, and Walsall-based Firsteel, which coats steel for kitchen bakeware and has a 50-strong workforce.

Also up for sale is Cogent, a manufacturer and processor of electrical steels based in Newport, South Wales , Burlington, Canada and Surahammar, Sweden; Kalzip, an aluminium roofing and cladding business based primarily in Koblenz, Germany and Tata Steel Istanbul Metals, a coil coating company using steel bought on the open market, based in Adapazari, Turkey.

Hans Fischer, chief executive of Tata Steel’s European operations, said: “These potential sales follow the successful sale of other non-core businesses in recent years, such as Long Products Europe and Speciality Steels.

"Under new ownership these former Tata Steel businesses have found the focus to secure a more sustainable future. In turn, these divestments have allowed us to focus resources on making significant improvements to the core strip business, as part of our ambition to develop the most sustainable steel business in Europe focused on our Ijmuiden and Port Talbot value chains.

“The customer bases for the businesses being sold are distinct from the rest of Tata Steel Europe. We want to find the best owner for each of these business units who can focus on their needs to help them realise their full potential.”

Mr Fischer added: “These potential sales would enable Tata Steel Europe to focus investment and management resource on its core strip products business and strategic markets.”

Following the potential sale of these business units, which employ a total of 1,100, Tata Steel Europe would continue to employ about 20,000 people manufacturing advanced products for the automotive, construction, engineering and packaging sectors.

Tata Steel currently employs about 750 in the Black Country, including its Steelpark site at Wednesfield where 450 work and Brierley Hill, as well as the service centre at Horseley Fields and Firsteel in Brockhurst Crescent.

Tata Steel is one of Europe's leading steel producers, with steelmaking in the UK and Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across Europe.

The combined Tata Steel group is one of the top global steel companies, with an annual steel capacity of 27.5 million tonnes and almost 74,000 employees across five continents.

Last year its Indian owners agreed a tie up with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp for the European operations.