Two companies — one in the UK, one operating in Turkey — have formed a partnership that is having a tangible impact on one of Britain’s most challenged industrial communities. British Steel’s deal with ERG International Group to supply rail for the Ankara–İzmir high-speed railway is more than a transaction; it is a relationship that has brought new jobs, new production activity, and new hope to Scunthorpe.
The eight-figure contract covers 36,000 tonnes of rail for the 599km line, which will connect Turkey’s capital with the Aegean coast while dramatically reducing travel times and carbon emissions. British Steel, supported by UK Export Finance, was selected to supply the rail — a decision that reflects confidence in the quality and reliability of the plant’s products.
The impact in Scunthorpe has been immediate. Twenty-three new workers have joined the site specifically because of the Turkish order, and the plant has resumed 24-hour production for the first time in over ten years. For a community that has endured prolonged uncertainty about the plant’s future, these are tangible signs that something is changing for the better.
UK Steel praised the deal and called for the government to build on it with structural reforms. The director general described British Steel as a “globally respected manufacturer with a strong international customer base” and called for policy action on energy costs and import protections to secure that reputation in the long term.
The financial challenges have not gone away — £1.2 million a day in losses, £359 million in total government costs — and Scunthorpe’s rebuild is far from complete. But in the partnership between British Steel and ERG, and in the 36,000 tonnes of rail heading to Turkey, there is evidence that the rebuild is underway.