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Following the closure of Tafarnaubach in December 2013, Shotton’s product range is extended to supply major domestic appliance manufacturers. Technical and manufacturing teams at Shotton have been working on line trials, dealing with different substrates, pre-treatments and coating processes to meet the requirements of domestic appliances manufacturers, notably Indesit whose main brands are Indesit, Hotpoint and Scholtes.

The Indesit company has been supplied by Tata Colors and Colorsteels for over thirty years and since 2006 Tata Steel Colors share of the company’s pre-finished steel order book has grown to 50 per cent. Colors in partnership with Colorsteels are the sole supplier to Indesit Yate UK ( driers), and are also the dominant supplier to Indesit Lodz, Poland (fridges and cookers) and Indesit Radomsko Poland (dish washers).

The works continues to be profitable,in contrast to most of the other UK Strip businesses. A strong financial result in the last 18 months has been driven by the focus on high-end Colorcoat ® products which make up 75 per cent. of the OCS order book. Teams are working to improve surface quality particularly on the No.5 hot dip galv. line, and the No. 1 Colorcoat line is now processing orders for the Domestic Appliance sector. A switch to chrome-free alternatives for primers and pre-treatments which could impact on product performance is currently being looked at.