Liberty House to invest £120m in Scottish aluminium smelter
Staff Writer | December 19, 2016
Britain's last aluminium smelter has been bought in a deal that will see at least 300 jobs created as part of a £120 million investment.Article continues below
Steel company Liberty House and its partner SIMEC bought the Fort William smelter in Scotland's Highlands for £330 million from mining giant Rio Tinto. Liberty and Simec are operating through their GFG Alliance partnership.
Liberty House said the £120 million would be used to upgrade equipment and establish an aluminium wheel manufacturing facility at the site, creating up to 300 jobs directly and "hundreds more" in the supply-chain.
Liberty said it aimed to protect the existing 170 jobs at the site in Lochaber and progressively expand metal manufacturing and downstream engineering there.
The plan would eventually bringing up to 2,000 direct and supply-chain jobs to the heart of the Highlands and adding around £1bn to the local economy over the next decade.
The acquisition includes the hydro-electric station and aluminium smelter at Fort William, the neighbouring hydro-plant at Kinlochleven and over 100,000 acres of estate land which hosts the water catchment area, including the foothills of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain.
SIMEC will operate the hydro plants as part of its growing UK portfolio of renewable power assets, Liberty said adding that the smelter would be a "key" customer. ■ What to read next
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