Hundreds of high skilled jobs are to be created in Sheffield after Taiwanese advanced manufacturing company Walsin Lihwa (WL) announced a major investment that boosts the UK’s steel industry and advanced manufacturing sector.

The positive news will create over 200 jobs by 2028 in a first phase, and marks the first step towards the company’s plans for a major presence in the UK, with further job creation and investment expected from WL in South Yorkshire and the UK in the coming years.

The investment from WL will establish a new superalloy forging facility and plans for a research and development centre and come through an upgrade of its existing Special Melted Products (SMP) factory in Sheffield, which will be focused on producing speciality steel and nickel parts for aerospace jet engines and energy industry products.

Delivering on the government’s economic growth mission at the heart of the Plan for Change, the investment will create good, well-paid jobs for local workers, with average salaries expected to be over £40,000 a year.

The news follows Deloitte’s latest survey of finance officers which has found the UK is the joint top location for investment in the world and data out this week from Make UK and BDO which finds that manufacturing in the UK has recovered to 2019, pre-pandemic, levels in every region.

The investment is a major boost to the government’s modern Industrial Strategy which launched last month and had identified opportunities in growth-driving sectors like this as priorities for government support. A vote of confidence in South Yorkshire’s world-class strengths in advanced manufacturing, clean energy and defence, it will back the growth corridor across the northern city regions.

Notably the investment will introduce new melting and superalloy forging capabilities – a new strategic manufacturing capability to the UK – which will reduce domestic producers’, such as Rolls Royce, reliance on imports.

These capabilities will aid the UK’s aspirations in aerospace, steel, nuclear and defence as set out in the modern Industrial Strategy, contribute resilience towards supply shocks and will help grow Sheffield’s manufacturing sector, which was valued at £1.4bn in 2023.

Minister for investment Baroness Gustafsson CBE said: “Our modern industrial strategy is all about having more high paid jobs in the industries of the future, in communities right around the UK. This investment is a major vote of confidence in Sheffield’s world-class manufacturing sector and couldn’t match our ambitions better.

“Our steel strategy later this year will set out further support we will take to boost the steel sector and encourage investments like this, and we look forward to hearing from Walsin Lihwa about their ambitious UK growth plans, delivering on our Plan for Change.”

Once the forging facility is established, WL have also set out plans to set up a research and development centre in the UK in a next phase later in the decade, focused on strengthening the company’s capabilities in materials and digital technology innovation and contributing to a growing aerospace and defence cluster in South Yorkshire.

The centre will generate hundreds of new well-paid jobs and apprenticeships, with a range of future-proof skills and expertise in manufacturing operations, welding, melting, metallurgy, engineering, machining, material science, data analytics, and other high value career opportunities.

The investment minister, Baroness Gustafsson, attended the site with WL’s chairman, Yu-Lon Chiao, to celebrate the investment and to hear more about the company’s plans for UK growth.

Walsin Lihwa chairman, Yu-Lon Chiao, said: “The United Kingdom possesses a vast market in aerospace, energy, and nuclear power sectors that is unparalleled by Taiwan. This investment marks a significant milestone in SMP’s development and underscores Walsin Lihwa’s firm determination for global expansion strategy.

“Looking ahead, we plan to establish an R&D centre in the UK to further strengthen our capabilities in materials and digital technology innovation, while deepening our collaborative ties with the European market to jointly promote industrial upgrading and sustainable development.”

Source: Hundreds of new jobs created by Sheffield manufacturing investment - GOV.UK