Liberty House has purchased plant equipment to create large scale tubular steel fabrication as it looks to enter the steel wind tower market.

As part of the company's 'Greensteel' strategy, the two recently acquired Dalzell and Clydebridge mills in Lanarkshire will begin creating heavy-duty steel plate required for the towers in September.

It is estimated over 100 jobs will be created by the move, including engineers, welders, fabricators, assemblers, blasters and painters.

The new equipment was purchased from Mabey Bridge Renewables at Chepstow, South Wales.

It will form part of a new manufacturing centre, which will eventually supply the off-shore wind market and turbine casings for Tidal Lagoon power.

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Towers up to 56m tall x 5m diameter can be created for for on-shore wind installations, however Liberty plans to upgrade the facility to make 110m x 10m towers for the growing off-shore market.

In addition, the facility will manufacture towers and cross-sections for the National Grid's newly-introduced 35m tall T-Pylons.

Executive Chairman Sanjeev Gupta said: "We are very excited about this new opportunity. It is an excellent example of how we are integrating our steel production and manufacturing supply chain to create a robust industrial eco-system. It is particularly appropriate that this new business will supply the renewable energy market in view of our own GREENSTEEL strategy, which involves investing in green energy as the basis of a competitive UK steel and engineering industry.

"Our aim is to create a world-class centre for the production of tubular towers and other large scale steel fabrication. Most of these products are currently imported, so there is great potential to substitute this with our own production of best-in-class and competitive British towers, building sustained value and creating skilled jobs in a growth sector."

(LM/MH)