A STOKESLEY company played a key role in the return of steelmaking on Teesside.

Applied Integration designed, developed and installed control systems for SSI UK’s £37m pulverised coal injection plant.

It blows finely powdered coal into the centre of the Redcar blast furnace, which speeds up steelmaking, while reducing costs.

Lee Raywood, Applied Integration’s managing director, was an apprentice at the site in the 1990s.

He said: “While SSI is right on our doorstep, we faced competition from long-established global rivals, so winning the contract was a reflection on our growing reputation in the industry.

“The project served as a personal trip down memory lane for me, but it was fantastic for everyone at the company to work on such an important asset in one of our key local industries.

“As a proud Teesside company, we were privileged to have played our part in helping to bring steelmaking back to the area and secure a major part of Teesside’s industrial heritage.”

The blast furnace was refired nearly two years ago and has since made five million tons of steel slabs.

  • Last year, the company secured a deal to design and develop control systems for HMS Agamemnon and HMS Ajax, the Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered attack submarines.