The former Tata Steel plant in Wattsville, Crosskeys, has a new resident as one of Europe’s largest processors of pre-finished steel completes its move.

Capital Coated Steel has already invested £3.5m in the site on the North Blackvein Industrial Estate, including an extensive refurbishment, to turn the former steel works into its new headquarters and production base. The move is bringing new jobs to the area and giving the local economy a significant boost.

Ahead of its official move in the company held a ‘Meet the Buyers’ day and local suppliers from across Newport, Caerphilly and South Wales spent the day pitching their products and services to Capital Coated Steel’s buyers.

Bringing their combined 110 employees, all Capital Coated Steel group companies have come together to be based at the new site.

They include Macward Steel Slitting Services Ltd, Brunel Steel Services - a supplier of non-prime pre-finished steels - and Odoni-Elwell, manufacturers of bike stands and steel storage buildings. The new 130,000 sq ft premises covers over seven acres.

Gary Hunt, managing director at Capital Coated Steel Ltd, said: “We’re delighted to finally be able to move the whole team into our new headquarters and to call Crosskeys our home. Our new site will allow us to expand as it significantly increases our capacity, so we can meet the growing worldwide demand for our products.

“The move has allowed us create 14 new jobs immediately, with more planned in the near future.”

Established in 1972 by John Hunt, Capital Coated Steel is a family run business and is the largest independent specialist distributor of pre-coated steel in Europe. The company processes more than 70,000 tonnes of steel annually, used in everything from cladding to consumer electronics.