Sheffield Forgemasters International has won a $6.2m contract to supply castings for the US Navy submarine fleet.
The contract will see the company deliver 84 castings to the General Dynamics Electric Boat Corporation, the company responsible for the design, construction and lifecycle support of submarines for the U.S. Navy.
Sheffield Forgemasters won the order based on its strong working relationship with Electric Boat Corporation and its track record of supplying high specification steel castings for both the US and the UK Navy submarine programmes.
Dr Graham Honeyman, chief executive at Sheffield Forgemasters International, said the deal is a landmark order for both the company and the UK.
“This is a landmark order for Sheffield Forgemasters and for the UK and it cements our long-standing working partnership with Electric Boat Corporation,” he said.
“The specifics of the components are classified, but we can confirm that the order is valued at 6.2 million US Dollars and is a significant body of work for our foundry, which will be required to deliver a series of complex castings over a period of 10 months.”
Sheffield Forgemasters, which has supplied the Electric Boat Corporation for six years and the US Navy for over 30, said it expects the first casting to be poured next month.
The South Yorkshire firm is one of only a handful of companies around the globe qualified by the US Navy to produce the high integrity casting, having undergone an extensive qualification program involving both Electric Boat and the US Navy.
Dr Honeyman added: “We have been in negotiations with Electric Boat Corporation on specifics of this contract for 12 months now and confirmation of the order comes at a very important time for us as we continue to fight the effects of a global recession and late-cycle orders.”
