Ever since the news that the £80m loan from the previous government was to be axed, bosses at Sheffield Forgemasters have been in new talks regrading financial support. Cash that is needed for new machinery to help build parts for power stations is seen as the only way the company can progress, and the future for the Sheffield based company looks less secure without this money.
It’s been reported that a main competitor, Japan Steel Works, has suggested that government help should not be required and that they should be able to support their own growth. The Financial Times interview with Ikuo Sato, the Japanese firms President, revealed he felt that the Sheffield Forgemaster route to funding should be via the private sector and not from the central bank. He commented that the JSW model was to borrow the money from private investors, and added that they took risks in hard times to achieve this.
The Sheffield firms CEO Graham Honeyman says that the Japanese firm are in a different position, and the influence of the exchange rates and inflation that the government inpose in that country leads to easier access to funding. The funding that Sheffield Forgemasters are looking at would be made available through a regional assistance programme.
