Two thousand jobs could be created in a Highland community which has suffered a troubled economic history, as plans to manufacture vehicle parts are confirmed by the new owners of the Fort William smelter.
It is the last remaining aluminium smelter in the UK, and there had been local fears it would close. But 10 weeks after acquiring it from previous owners Rio Tinto for £330m and securing the 170 existing jobs, GFG Alliance companies, Liberty British Aluminium and SIMEC Lochaber Power, have begun developing an advanced auto-components plant. It promises to generate a further 600 direct and indirect jobs.
The plant in the shadow of Ben Nevis is the centrepiece of the £120m first phase of a major long-term investment in the area by the GFG Alliance that is projected to eventually create a total of 1,000 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs and add £1billion to the local economy.
Two large hydroelectric schemes (one at Kinochleven) power the smelter. But in a further milestone, SIMEC's new £10 million bio-diesel power plants at Fort William were turned on, creating Britain's first metal-producing facility powered entirely by renewable green energy.
It means an end to aluminium production having to be reduced to conserve water during prolonged dry periods The new bio-diesel driven power plants will not only sustain production during these temporary shortages but will supply power to the grid on demand when needed, when there are wind levels are too low to drive many wind farms.
GFG directors and Scottish Government hosted the first meeting the new ‘Lochaber Delivery Group,’ a special joint panel of local agencies set up to support the creation of the new auto plant through the provision of housing, training, infrastructure and services for workers.
Chaired by Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing who said: "This investment is great news for the whole local community.
"With the first meeting of the Lochaber Delivery Group today, and redevelopment work at the smelter now under way, an exciting new chapter in the history of the local area has now begun.
"The UK's last remaining aluminium smelter will continue as a key component of Scotland's industrial capability and a major source of employment in the Highlands and Islands, and the planned factory promises further expansion and opportunity for communities in Lochaber and beyond."
Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the GFG Alliance, said: "I am delighted to report excellent progress in our work programme with partners in Scottish Government and local agencies. One of the reasons we invested in the Highlands was because people welcomed us here.
"That's been reinforced by the positive response of the many agencies in the new Lochaber Delivery Group who showed today that they are eager to play their part in delivering the goal of a clean, competitive and sustainable manufacturing sector in the Highlands."
It is a new chapter for the aluminium industry, a vital part of the Highland economy for more than 100 years. It employed many thousands in its heyday, sustaining remote communities.
There have been four aluminium smelters in the Highlands. The first was at Foyers on the side of Loch Ness opened in 1896. In 1929 The British Aluminium Company Ltd completed their major hydro construction programme of dams and pipework for their new smelters at Fort William and Kinlochleven. Work on the Invergordon smelter in Easter Ross was completed in 1971 but it closed in 1981. Kinlochleven followed in 2000 leaving only Fort William.
The nearby Corpach pulp mill closed in 1980, hitting Fort William hard with almost 500 employees losing their jobs with more indirect employment going. But things have improved in recent years. Last May the average claimant count and universal credit unemployment rate for the town and surrounding area was just 1.1 per cent compared to a Scottish average of 2.2 per cent and the UK and 1.8 per cent.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here