Trostre Steelworks

Trostre Steelworks is a tinplate manufacturing facility located in Pemberton, Carmarthenshire, just outside Llanelli, West Wales. Planned by the Steel Company of Wales in 1947, today it is part of Tata Steel Europe's infrastructure.

The name of the area derives from the Pemberton family, landowners and industrialists from the North of England, who played a role in the development of Llanelli (especially the local coal industry) in the early 19th century.

On formation in 1947, the nationalised Steel Company of Wales was under UK Government pressure to both increase production and profits, and rationalise its production base. As part of its strategic plan, the company envisaged creating two new tinplate works, one at Trostre and one at Felindre, Swansea.

With in excess of 12,000 men unemployed in post-World War II Llanelli, the decision was made to focus on construction of the Trostre plant to make best use of the areas developed skills in tinplate manufacture. Chosen due to its close location to railway access via Llandeilo Junction on the West Wales Line/Heart of Wales Line, after buying up three farms, the new plant was planned with an output of 400,000 tons per annum.

Construction was started in August 1947, but due to the marshland-geology of the site, main ground works contractor Robert M Douglas was forced to devise a new type of formwork for its construction. Timber was the traditional material for such purposes, but immediately post-war could only be obtained on permit from the Ministry of Supply. The quantity allocated by the ministry was inadequate to maintain the required progress of the work, so alternative means of providing the necessary formwork were investigated. Limited quantities of cold steel plate were available, and the timber obtained by permit was to a considerable extent used as framing to which the steel plate was fixed. The available quantities were soon absorbed and the supply was augmented by the purchase of now redundant Anderson-type air raid shelters, which were rolled flat and pressed into panels of uniform size. This was the first steel panel formwork system ever deployed in the world.

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