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I DA U N I V E R S A L M ay -J u n e 2 0 1 4 23 Nuts and Bolts continued on page 29 NUTS & BOLTS continued from page 21 ousands of past and present steelworkers around the world will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the start of iron-making in Scun- thorpe this year. It was in the spring of 1864 that George and William Dawes started producing blast furnace iron at their newly-built Trent Ironworks in the town. And it was to be only another 26 years before the town – famous for its motto " e Heavens Refl ect Our Labours" – also started pro- ducing steel. Iron-making these days in Scunthorpe is in the safe hands of Dave Collins, who is currently overseeing the £30 million-plus reline of the town's 60-year-old Queen Anne blast furnace. Collins said, "Iron-making in Scunthorpe has been a journey – a journey of discov- ery that has seen great leaps in technology, in safety and in processes. "When the fi rst blast furnace was tapped in 1864, it cost around £260 in today's money to produce a ton of iron. "One-hundred-fi y years later, we can do it for less than that, thanks to the hard work of generations of iron-makers who came to Scunthorpe, made it their home and added to the collective knowl- edge of great iron-making. "I am very proud to be part of what is really a very short history which has helped create the mod- ern world we live in today. "At no point in the last 150 years have we been able to produce so much iron, with such precision, and in such safety. "By 1876, there were six separate iron compa- nies operating 23 blast furnaces within a one- mile radius. By then, the pace of innovation was already picking up, and these early blast furnaces were each capable of producing around 20 tons of iron a day. " e introduction in 1904 of the fi rst mechanically- charged furnace, which was also equipped for the fi rst time with a steel hearth jacket, tuyeres fabricated from cop- per, and the fi rst revolving distributor, fueled a steep change in how much iron could be made. "At the time, a blast furnace could produce about 1,000 tonnes of iron a week. By 1964, that had shot up to more than 9,000 tonnes a week. Today? Today, Queen Victo- ria can produce 30,000 tonnes of iron a week, using less coke than ever before. " e safety and health of all our employees is our number one priority. We have developed safety perfor- mance in line with output, and there has not been a lost-time injury at the blast Light up: e Trent Ironworks, the fi rst commercial ironworks in Scunthorpe, featured in this lighting of the furnace, 1864. Tata Steel Celebrates 150th Anniversary of Scunthorpe Ironmaking Construction: e building of Trent Ironworks, Scunthorpe, in 1865. furnaces for more than eight years. A memorial service was staged in the town's Central Park on April 28 to pay hom- age to fallen steelworkers over the past 150 years. And Scunthorpe MP Nic Dakin has called for fundrais- ing support so that a special £30,000 commemorative statue to the town's steelwork- ers can be erected in Church Square during the anniversary year. "It is amazing that wher- ever you go in the world you will see Scunthorpe steel – an essential part of the global economy. "We have a fantastic record of producing the very high- est quality steel, and I know that all those working in the industry today are committed to building on the success of the past to ensure a successful future. ● www.scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk, April 2014