A NORTH-EAST steel plant has made a breakthrough in the renewable energy sector following a decline in other markets.

Corus Special Profiles, in Skinningrove, near Saltburn, east Cleveland, has secured five European orders for a steel product to be used in the construction of wind turbines.

The 15m-long steel bar developed and produced at the plant will be used to join sections of tubular steel used in the construction of towers for wind turbines.

The company hoped that the development would help it establish a foothold in the rapidly growing wind turbine sector, with the market for its product estimated to be about £100m a year.

It comes as the plant, which has traditionally provided steel for industries including earth-moving equipment manufacturers and shipbuilding, has seen a significant fall in orders this year due to the economic downturn.

Peter Gate, commercial manager for Corus Special Profiles, said: “We’re always looking at new markets and how we can diversify, so that if we see a decline in one area, we have opportunities in others.

“There are only a handful of companies around the world capable of making this product.”

Corus engineers at Skinningrove and Scunthorpe had less than eight weeks to develop the bar, in co-operation with the company’s research labs.

The end product produced by steelworkers at Skinningrove then had to undergo rigorous tests, including ultrasonic scans, to ensure it was free from defects.

Mr Gate said: “There was a tremendous amount of commitment and enthusiasm from the Skinningrove workforce to develop it in a very short time – just two months, which included the trials.”

Chris Elliott, Corus director of product line management, said: “This is part of our strategy to capture the increasing value for fast-growing industrial sectors, in this case renewable energy.

“Our ambition is to be both supplier of choice for renewable energy customers and a key player in sustainable supply chains in this emerging sector.”

It is a further example of the North-East’s drive to turn itself into a hub for the renewable energy sector.

The New and Renewable Energy Centre in Northumberland is already internationally renowned for its wind turbine testing facilities.

The Printable Electronics Technology Centreat Net- Park, in Sedgefield, County Durham, and manufacturers such as glass maker Romag, in Consett, County Durham, are leading the way in technology for photovoltaics (solar-power).

And in July, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the region would become the UK’s first low carbon economic area for low carbon vehicles.

It followed announcements in the summer that the region would take part in the world’s largest trial testing of the dayto- day viability of electric vehicles and that Nissan’s European Centre of Excellence for battery manufacturing for electric vehicles would sit alongside its car factory in Sunderland, making the region a leading contender to make its new Leaf car for the European market.