Thai owned UK steel plant goes into liquidation - 2,200 jobs at risk

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Redcar steelworks owner goes into liquidation threatening all 2,200 jobs

Terry Macalister and Dominic Smith

REDCAR:-- Owner SSI decides it can no longer financially support its loss-making UK subsidiary in Teesside after ministers refuse request for ‘open-ended’ funding.

The company that owns the Redcar steel works in north-east England has been put into liquidation, threatening a total of 2,200 jobs, after the government rejected a last-ditch appeal for financial help.

Thailand-based Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) said it could no longer support its loss-making UK subsidiary which has run up £500m worth of debts. Earlier this week, it mothballed the Teesside plant, Europe’s second biggest steelworks.

Cornelius Louwrens, chief operating officer for SSI (UK), emailed staff in Redcar on Friday saying he had just been told about the liquidation following a board meeting of the parent group in Bangkok.

“Through the next few hours I will determine how this affects our plant operations and pleased be assured our focus remains to maintain operations at RCO [Redcar] if at all possible.”

On Monday, SSI’s UK unit said 1,700 directly employed staff would be axed as it announced it was mothballing the plant. But the liquidation process means there is now a threat to the remaining 500 employees, who were being kept on to maintain the plant in case it could be re-opened.

Full story: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/02/redcar-steel-plant-goes-into-liquidation

RELATED: Thai banks face biggest default since '97 crash

[SOTIRIOS]

....I hope they investigate....too easy to get away with such a monumental 'loss'....

[Assurancetourix]

Not " loss " for everybody;

in Thailand brown envelops are big .

[bangkokheat]

....I hope they investigate....too easy to get away with such a monumental 'loss'....

yes hope they do, with the same vigor, honesty and openess the brits displayed in kao tao

[Muhendis]

The BBC report from the UK states that the plant cannot compete in the world market because of the current glut in available steel. Also it seems that the parent company consists of a group of three banks. I guess they had hoped to make some good business.

There is a practical problem about the liquidation. There is not likely to be a quick sale but the coking furnaces need to be kept running in case there is a buyer. Failure to keep them running will cause them to collapse and that would be a very costly problem for any potential buyer. A company in liquidation cannot pay for people to maintain these ovens. I think the parent company has probably decided to cut its losses.

[Loeilad]

^{one has to wonder at the competence/motives of a Thai management that bought into this factory.}

[jamie2009]

I am sure when SSI bought the plant from Tata it was already 'mothballed' it required millions too bring it back 'online'. It was a very old plant opened around the late seventies, I actually worked on the Coke Ovens during construction.I returned several years ago when it was still in Tata ownership ago but 'walked' after a couple of days. There had been a total lack of investment by Tata, the whole place was dropping to bits, complete lack of maintenance except for the functioning plant, when it rained the place flooded as no one had bothered to maintain the drains, the offices and welfare facilities hadn't been cleaned with the result every thing was covered in fine black dust. Yes it's a steel plant but no effort had been made to clean anything.

What SSI ever bought for it we will never know, did they receive government grants etc ? If so they should be made to pay them back but that could prove difficult as the company have no money, another aThai scam ? Does SSI have a parent company in Thailand or was the company set up just for the Steelworks operation ? I don't recall seeing anything on Thai TV about the closure.

The Indians sold SSI a 'pup' maybe payback for the Jet Ski scamming ! Joking, never good to see so many people lose their employment.

[crazykopite]

Last week SCB who are one of two banks who bankrolled this company had to sell over 300 million baht of shareholding In a major Thai cement company in order to raise finances to support the Thai company that owns Redcar from my understanding SCB which is not a government bank were a major finance provider my worry is now that they SCB could be placed in a very uncomfortable situation with finances with this in mind I have decided to move my monies to another Thai bank and before anyone suggest that I am making a mole out of a mountain in 2009 A certain British bank of which I held shares in were taken over by the UK government and I lost a considerable amount of money so I have learnt one thing you can never say never. I would love to know what cover we as bank customers have if a bank in Thailand goes bust I envisage that we would loose everything we had in it !!!!

[Loeilad]

I am sure when SSI bought the plant from Tata it was already 'mothballed' it required millions too bring it back 'online'. It was a very old plant opened around the late seventies, I actually worked on the Coke Ovens during construction.I returned several years ago when it was still in Tata ownership ago but 'walked' after a couple of days. There had been a total lack of investment by Tata, the whole place was dropping to bits, complete lack of maintenance except for the functioning plant, when it rained the place flooded as no one had bothered to maintain the drains, the offices and welfare facilities hadn't been cleaned with the result every thing was covered in fine black dust. Yes it's a steel plant but no effort had been made to clean anything.

What SSI ever bought for it we will never know, did they receive government grants etc ? If so they should be made to pay them back but that could prove difficult as the company have no money, another aThai scam ? Does SSI have a parent company in Thailand or was the company set up just for the Steelworks operation ? I don't recall seeing anything on Thai TV about the closure.

The Indians sold SSI a 'pup' maybe payback for the Jet Ski scamming ! Joking, never good to see so many people lose their employment.

this is the BBC's take on mothballing....

"Iron and steelmaking at SSI's Redcar plant in the north-east of England is to be mothballed, with the loss of 1,700 jobs.

The company "paused" production on 18 September citing poor trading conditions and a drop in world steel prices.

SSI UK business director Cornelius Louwrens said the plant could be mothballed for up to five years."

I'd say the inference one would draw is that under Thai management it wasn't mothballed

[Scott]

<snipped>

I would love to know what cover we as bank customers have if a bank in Thailand goes bust I envisage that we would loose everything we had in it !!!!

A good questions. Are there possible direct repercussions for people having money in these banks?

[Don Mega]

from this thread we have uksomchai claiming he works there and all is ok and what is being said in the media is a load of .

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/856056-thais-not-paying-their-debts/

[dabhand]

Last week SCB who are one of two banks who bankrolled this company had to sell over 300 million baht of shareholding In a major Thai cement company in order to raise finances to support the Thai company that owns Redcar from my understanding SCB which is not a government bank were a major finance provider my worry is now that they SCB could be placed in a very uncomfortable situation with finances with this in mind I have decided to move my monies to another Thai bank and before anyone suggest that I am making a mole out of a mountain in 2009 A certain British bank of which I held shares in were taken over by the UK government and I lost a considerable amount of money so I have learnt one thing you can never say never. I would love to know what cover we as bank customers have if a bank in Thailand goes bust I envisage that we would loose everything we had in it !!!!

Current cover noted as being Bt25m, as from mid 2015 (down from Bt50m) but plummets to only Bt1m (per bank) in 2016 (no precise date noted).

http://www.thaiwebsites.com/deposits-insurance.asp

Not sure whether the article is completely accurate but it does indicate that your concern may well be justified.

[Sam Jones]

<snipped>

I would love to know what cover we as bank customers have if a bank in Thailand goes bust I envisage that we would loose everything we had in it !!!!

A good questions. Are there possible direct repercussions for people having money in these banks?

Time to clean out all "Fixed Accounts" and get the hell out of here before its too late I think ... I dont envy people stuck here with property here once the "Great Firewall" come and all Investments and expats leave

[Jonmarleesco]

'... ministers refuse request for ‘open-ended’ funding.' Impressive, how they can find upwards of 2bn quid to bribe the Chinese and the French, but not the money required to keep Teeside jobs open.

[jamie2009]

'... ministers refuse request for open-ended funding.' Impressive, how they can find upwards of 2bn quid to bribe the Chinese and the French, but not the money required to keep Teeside jobs open.

That's for the Nuclear Power Stations, we are funding a company part owned by the French government. EDF and are going to be paying them twice the rate for the electricity they produce, the Government are now also seeking funding from the Chinese for the HS2 Project.

If the plant was in the affluent south things would be different !

[Mudcrab]

<snipped>

I would love to know what cover we as bank customers have if a bank in Thailand goes bust I envisage that we would loose everything we had in it !!!!

A good questions. Are there possible direct repercussions for people having money in these banks?

Time to clean out all "Fixed Accounts" and get the hell out of here before its too late I think ... I dont envy people stuck here with property here once the "Great Firewall" come and all Investments and expats leave

Go Sam, just go.

Thailand is obviously not for you.

[uksomchai]

from this thread we have uksomchai claiming he works there and all is ok and what is being said in the media is a load of .

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/856056-thais-not-paying-their-debts/

And still working there Don only had some bad news today.

Wage is going down from 10,000 Baht a day to 7000 baht a day but less hours so no big deal

The last few days we have been moving stocks of coke and coal about the site for various creditors so the banks involved now own lots of coke, coal and magnetite. This has been moved over the weighbridge and stored with the new owners name on the pile. A bit of security for some of the creditors.

As said a new local buyer is now negotiating a deal so expect some news any time in the next week or month.

SSI have only done what TATA did and the company before them did so no big difference really.

We Are just witnessing a political game of poker where the stakes are high but the winners pot is a beauty.

There is also a rumour of a Chinese bidder entering the game as well which considering Osbourne has been over there last week sounds right

[stoneyboy]

from this thread we have uksomchai claiming he works there and all is ok and what is being said in the media is a load of .

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/856056-thais-not-paying-their-debts/

And still working there Don only had some bad news today.

Wage is going down from 10,000 Baht a day to 7000 baht a day but less hours so no big deal

The last few days we have been moving stocks of coke and coal about the site for various creditors so the banks involved now own lots of coke, coal and magnetite. This has been moved over the weighbridge and stored with the new owners name on the pile. A bit of security for some of the creditors.

As said a new local buyer is now negotiating a deal so expect some news any time in the next week or month.

SSI have only done what TATA did and the company before them did so no big difference really.

We Are just witnessing a political game of poker where the stakes are high but the winners pot is a beauty.

There is also a rumour of a Chinese bidder entering the game as well which considering Osbourne has been over there last week sounds right

Could be a right steel for the right investor.

[uksomchai]

from this thread we have uksomchai claiming he works there and all is ok and what is being said in the media is a load of .

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/856056-thais-not-paying-their-debts/

And still working there Don only had some bad news today.

Wage is going down from 10,000 Baht a day to 7000 baht a day but less hours so no big deal

The last few days we have been moving stocks of coke and coal about the site for various creditors so the banks involved now own lots of coke, coal and magnetite. This has been moved over the weighbridge and stored with the new owners name on the pile. A bit of security for some of the creditors.

As said a new local buyer is now negotiating a deal so expect some news any time in the next week or month.

SSI have only done what TATA did and the company before them did so no big difference really.

We Are just witnessing a political game of poker where the stakes are high but the winners pot is a beauty.

There is also a rumour of a Chinese bidder entering the game as well which considering Osbourne has been over there last week sounds right

Could be a right steel for the right investor.

I did post an another post about the site that if there were any stock investors they might want to take a dabble in a Chinese steel firm taking over

They could steal a jump on the other steel investors

My money though is on the local company taking it

[Muhendis]

A cliffhanger with a possible soft landing. Hope it all comes good......

[Basil B]

If you have money in a Thai bank I would suggest withdrawing what you can from the ATM's over the weekend and camp outside your branch tomorrow night so you can withdraw the rest first thing Monday...

[billd766]

If you have money in a Thai bank I would suggest withdrawing what you can from the ATM's over the weekend and camp outside your branch tomorrow night so you can withdraw the rest first thing Monday...

I bank with Kasikorn.

Why would I need to take all of my money out? Is the sky falling or something?

I can sell you a tinfoil hat if you should need one.

[uksomchai]

Some of you guys do make me laugh. Take all your money out of the bank over this ?

[champers]

'... ministers refuse request for open-ended funding.' Impressive, how they can find upwards of 2bn quid to bribe the Chinese and the French, but not the money required to keep Teeside jobs open.

That's for the Nuclear Power Stations, we are funding a company part owned by the French government. EDF and are going to be paying them twice the rate for the electricity they produce, the Government are now also seeking funding from the Chinese for the HS2 Project.

If the plant was in the affluent south things would be different !

The Tories won't subsidise British coal mining or steel-making and no deep coal mines are left now in the UK. Osborn & Cameron are desperate for foreign investment into all UK power sources which are now almost all in the hands of foreign owners. Subsidies are thick on the ground and the UK population will end up paying over the odds and through the nose for their energy. We shouldn't forget that all these subsidies to foreign companies are funded by UK taxpayers. Interestingly, new Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that he will re-open British coal mines if elected.

[uksomchai]

'... ministers refuse request for open-ended funding.' Impressive, how they can find upwards of 2bn quid to bribe the Chinese and the French, but not the money required to keep Teeside jobs open.

That's for the Nuclear Power Stations, we are funding a company part owned by the French government. EDF and are going to be paying them twice the rate for the electricity they produce, the Government are now also seeking funding from the Chinese for the HS2 Project.

If the plant was in the affluent south things would be different !

The Tories won't subsidise British coal mining or steel-making and no deep coal mines are left now in the UK. Osborn & Cameron are desperate for foreign investment into all UK power sources which are now almost all in the hands of foreign owners. Subsidies are thick on the ground and the UK population will end up paying over the odds and through the nose for their energy. We shouldn't forget that all these subsidies to foreign companies are funded by UK taxpayers. Interestingly, new Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that he will re-open British coal mines if elected.

High energy users like steel makers are hammered by the co2 taxes that they are hit with so cannot compete on a level playing field with the likes of China. Until we get a politician that stops this co2 scam then the UK and the EU will continue to suffer. Thankfully that dinosaur Corbyn will never get elected and even if he did opening coal mines will do nothing as at the moment the EU would not let the UK burn the coal anyway. That plus we could get cheaper coal from the other side of the world than using British coal.

I think my brother said this was the third time the plant has or will have changed hands now since he has been contracting there and he isn't yet worried.

YET

Me I'm just happy collecting a few more Chang tokens till I get back

[Loeilad]

'... ministers refuse request for open-ended funding.' Impressive, how they can find upwards of 2bn quid to bribe the Chinese and the French, but not the money required to keep Teeside jobs open.

That's for the Nuclear Power Stations, we are funding a company part owned by the French government. EDF and are going to be paying them twice the rate for the electricity they produce, the Government are now also seeking funding from the Chinese for the HS2 Project.

If the plant was in the affluent south things would be different !

The Tories won't subsidise British coal mining or steel-making and no deep coal mines are left now in the UK. Osborn & Cameron are desperate for foreign investment into all UK power sources which are now almost all in the hands of foreign owners. Subsidies are thick on the ground and the UK population will end up paying over the odds and through the nose for their energy. We shouldn't forget that all these subsidies to foreign companies are funded by UK taxpayers. Interestingly, new Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that he will re-open British coal mines if elected.

High energy users like steel makers are hammered by the co2 taxes that they are hit with so cannot compete on a level playing field with the likes of China. Until we get a politician that stops this co2 scam then the UK and the EU will continue to suffer. Thankfully that dinosaur Corbyn will never get elected and even if he did opening coal mines will do nothing as at the moment the EU would not let the UK burn the coal anyway. That plus we could get cheaper coal from the other side of the world than using British coal.

I think my brother said this was the third time the plant has or will have changed hands now since he has been contracting there and he isn't yet worried.

YET

Me I'm just happy collecting a few more Chang tokens till I get back

"High energy users like steel makers are hammered by the co2 taxes that they are hit with so cannot compete on a level playing field with the likes of China"- a child-like dichotomization of the situation, apparently based solely on the uninformed political views held by the poster.

[uksomchai]

So China pays NO green taxes or co2 levies for any production whereas the UK is loaded down with them. So a perfectly level playing field then ?

Maybe you could explain a bit more ?

My views are of someone who was working there 30 years ago and my brother has a large investment in the plant and has done for the last 15 years so not just based on my political view but rather my INFORMED experience of the place

A link to some of the many taxes levied on the UK. link here

http://www.ifs.org.uk/economic_review/fp243.pdf

I can't seem to find any for China for some reason

Most people here couldn't tell you the percentage of co2 in the atmosphere at the present time without resorting to Google especially those Eco Nazi's that insist that co2 is going to destroy the planet and kill us all. They are just very good at never mentioning this figure in all their scare stories.

The amount is so ridiculously low that it is laughable to think this miniscule amount of gas which we need for life to exist is going to kill us all.

Try guessing ? I was a mile out and I am a Denier

Oh and the latest is that Hargreaves Industrial Services, who are / were a big player in SSI are bidding to take over and are looking good to win

[ravip]

Seems like the first company that has gone into liquidation in the UK?