Round Oak, A&P and Weldless – the tangled web of local steel makers
WE often find ourselves lamenting the loss of our once-great steel industry in the Bugle, and reader David Reynolds is one who felt it as keenly as anyone in the Black Country.
On seeing our recent article on Round Oak in the early ’60s (see November 2 edition, pages 6 and 7) David was reminded of a visit he once paid to the works, and of its links with other local steelmakers. David writes:
“It was great to read the article about Round Oak Steel Works during 1962 and the plan to put down experimental steelmaking and continuous casting plant small electric arc melting furnace.
“Whilst I did not work at Round
I believe Round Oak was nationalised for just a few days David Reynolds
Oak, as I worked for Accles & Pollock, which in 1978 was part of the TI Group as was Round Oak, I visited Round Oak Steel Works in 1978 as part of the TI Apprentice Training course, and saw the plant in operation, which was both frightening and fascinating.
“The connection with Accles & Pollock was that Round Oak produced the steel and cast the steel bars which were then sent to TI
Weldless in Wednesfield (later to become Seamless Tubes) who then turned them into steel hollows which Accles & Pollock then turned into high grade precision seamless tubes via the cold drawing process.
“Interestingly, whilst the Labour government nationalised the steel industry for a second time in 1967, Round Oak Steel Works remained in private ownership as part of TI Group, although I believe technically it was ‘nationalised’ for a few days before it was agreed on appeal to remain in private ownership.
“Although Round Oak Steel Works closed in 1982 it was not quite the end of steel making in the Black Country, and two small scale steel works were built around the same time.
“One was a mini–mill (electric arc melting and continuous casting) constructed at the steel casting works at FH. Lloyd in Wednesbury, which filled the gap created by the closure of Round Oak, by supplying steel bars to TI Weldless. “The second mini-mill, at Lloyd Cooper, was built on part of the old Grazebrook Works in Pear Tree Lane, Dudley. “There were a few of the Round Oak engineers, whose names escape me, who went to work at the F.h.lloyd plant because obviously they had the skills and experience in steel making and continuous casting. “The mini-mill at Lloyd Copper closed in 1984 and the F.H. Lloyd mini-mill finally succumbed and closed in 1990, after the takeover by Triplex–lloyd, with the supply of steel bars to Seamless Tubes being replaced by a supply from Stocksbridge Engineering Steel, which is still operating today. “With these closures steel making and casting came to a close in the Black Country although some rolling mill operations continued for a while.”