Corus invest £6m in Shotton plant

The Shotton plant is already home to two Corus businesses

Steel giant Corus is to invest £6m at its plant at Shotton, Flintshire, creating up to 50 jobs.

The investment is in the construction arm of the company and will establish production of insulated building panels by 2008.

It follows rising demand from the construction industry for use in building factories and offices.

Ian Taylor, managing director of Corus Panels and Profiles, said "This is a major investment by Corus."

He added: "These new lines, together with current panel operations in Ammanford, Wales, are demonstrative of our commitment to aggressively grow our position in the UK and Ireland composite panels market."

Corus said construction now represented around 30% of its £10bn annual turnover, and is the largest single part of the business.

The Shotton site is already home to two Corus businesses - Corus Colors, which makes pre-finished steel products, and Corus Living Solutions which builds pre-fabricated models for the residential sector.

In October, Corus accepted a £4.3bn ($8.1bn) takeover offer from Indian rival Tata Steel.