Sheffield Forgemasters, these days owned by the Ministry of Defence, is building a new machine shop on a 16-acre brownfield site at Weedon Street, adjacent to its Brightside Lane facilities.
It has appointed McLaughlin & Harvey to construct the 30,000 sqm building, which will house 24 new machines, including some of the world鈥檚 largest vertical turning lathes.
McLaughlin & Harvey has already completed enabling works and is under way with advanced works, which includes piling for the building superstructure, machine bases foundations, and installation of site-wide drainage and storm-water attenuation tanks
Sheffield Forgemasters programme director Craig Fisher said: 鈥淭he new machine shop main works contract is a major element within our recapitalisation programme and will create one of Europe鈥檚 most advanced defence machining facilities.
鈥淢cLaughlin & Harvey undertook the pre-construction works for the site and has delivered those elements at pace.
鈥淭hrough the advanced works contract, they have installed more than 4,000 piles and undertaken associated civils works, including capping beams, pile caps and site wide drainage and services, meaning that erection of structural steelwork can commence in January 2026.鈥�
The building is set to become a Sheffield landmark, clearly visible from the M1 motorway near to the Meadowhall shopping mall. It will also complement construction of the UK鈥檚 largest open-die forging-line, which Vinci is currently building under a 拢138m contract on聽Sheffield Forgemasters'聽North Brightside Lane site.
McLaughlin & Harvey managing director Paul Griffen said: 鈥淲e look forward to working collaboratively with Sheffield Forgemasters to deliver a facility of such national significance, which will not only help support UK industries for generations to come but also support the local economy in South Yorkshire. This contract award showcases our talented workforce鈥檚 ability to manage large-scale, complex construction projects. It strengthens our growing reputation as a construction partner of choice for clients in the advanced manufacturing and defence sectors.鈥�
The machine shop project team includes Arup, which handled the ecological and travel assessments, Bond Bryan Architects, and JLL, which acted on behalf of Sheffield Forgemasters for the site acquisition and planning submissions.
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