FORGING A NEW CHAPTER
The chairman behind steel group’s recovery ready to step down
LEADING INDUSTRIALIST Tony Pedder OBE is retiring from his role as chairman of Sheffield Forgemasters International after 12 years at the firm.
Mr Pedder, a former Master Cutler, has been in position at the steel fabricator since a management buyout in 2005.
In recent years Mr Pedder along with chief executive Graham Honeyman has faced a turnaround job.
The business was pushed into the red following the collapse of offshore oil and gas markets.
Mr Pedder said: “I am very proud to have been part of the story that saw the company saved from liquidation by the management buyout.
“I think it is now time for me to let the next generation of leaders take the business forward.
“The past two years have been turbulent and I have worked hard alongside the board of directors to stabilise the business following the demise of the offshore oil and gas markets, which wiped out approximately forty per cent of our turnover. The team has done a great job in this respect and the company is now back around break-even well ahead of schedule, and with renewed backing from our bank, this seems a sensible point for me to step down.”
This year Sheffield Forgemasters improved its performance by more than £6m just 12 months after reporting pre-tax losses exceeding £7m.
Mr Pedder holds a raft of positions across South Yorkshire, including pro-chancellor and chair of council at the University of Sheffield and chair of the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He plans to remain active in business and will focus in the short term on work he has been doing with Sheffield’s two universities and the Teaching Hospital.
Mr Honeyman said: “I would personally like to thank Tony for the support he has given to me in taking this company in the right direction and preserving the jobs and futures of many people.”