Vinci Building has clinched a £138m contract to deliver the UK’s largest open-die forging facility in Sheffield.

The project involves erecting a 13,800 sq m building to house the groundbreaking forging facility at Sheffield Forgemasters’ historic site on Brightside Lane.

Vinci has been working under a preconstruction agreement for nearly two years and is now starting to pile foundations ahead of erecting a 40m-high superstructure and installing building services and a water pumping station for the facility.

Gareth Barker, chief operating officer at MOD-owned Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We are progressing with a transformation of this business, to create one of the world’s most advanced large-scale engineering facilities, providing decades of jobs security and training for high-technology careers.”  

Sheffield Forgemasters is investing heavily across its site to support growing demand for defence work.

John Roberts, managing director of Vinci Building, said: “Signing of this contract brings together three years of tireless work by the team to develop the design and price for Sheffield Forgemasters.

“It gives us the opportunity to step up our social value activities to deliver a positive legacy for the people of Sheffield. I look forward to seeing progress in the coming months.”

The forging line will service defence and commercial work in sectors such as civil nuclear power, creating a new generation of engineers and designers, trained to work with Industry 4.0 technologies.

It will be complemented by a proposed new machining facility, housing some of the world’s largest and most advanced five-axis Vertical Turning Lathes.