Rowecord Engineering Ltd was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

structural steel Structural steel is a category of steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile of a specific cross section. Structural steel shapes, sizes, ...

contractor that specialised in sports facilities, footbridges, and

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

. Landmark works include the Olympic Aquatics Centre roof,

Mary Rose Museum The Mary Rose Museum is a historical museum located at Historic Dockyards in Portsmouth in the United Kingdom run by the Mary Rose Trust. Overview The museum is dedicated to the 16th-century Tudor navy warship ''Mary Rose'' as well as the hist ...

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team. Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2014 ...

Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Swansea.com; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium opened in 2005 and was named the Liberty Stadium. It ...

and

Newport City footbridge Newport City footbridge is a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the River Usk in the city of Newport, South Wales. The bridge links the east bank of the river in the vicinity of Rodney Parade stadium to University Plaza on the west bank. It was ...

Neptune Works Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

, its former headquarters, is partly built over the

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it fl ...

History

Origin

Rowecord Engineering Ltd was incorporated by Benjamin Hoppé in 1967 to carry out structural steel fabrication and erection. 1987 turnover was £7.3 million with 156 staff and by 1988 the Company had subsidiaries specialising in steelworks coal handling plant, and marketing industrial equipment. The acquisition of Braithwaite assets that year added capabilities in fluid storage systems including modular, pressed steel tanks. The transaction increased capacity for steel fabrication and existing Rowecord businesses moved down the

from Old Town Docks to Braithwaite's Neptune Works. During 1993 the business re-organised. Rowecord Engineering Ltd and its subsidiaries each became directly owned by the Hoppé family's newly incorporated Rowecord Holdings Ltd. Twenty years later that put the other businesses out of reach of Rowecord Engineering Ltd's creditors. Group turnover was £18.6 million with 335 staff in 1993. Group turnover peaked at £133 million in 2013. There had been over a thousand employees in 2012, and Rowecord Engineering Ltd accounted for approximately half of group staff and turnover.

Fate

Grant Thornton Grant Thornton is the world's seventh-largest by revenue and sixth-largest by number of employees professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to private ...

was appointed Administrator to Rowecord Engineering Ltd in 2013; 425 workers were immediately made redundant, with 82 retained to complete contracts and assist Administration. Projects including an extension for the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

;

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

works at

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

for

Tata Steel Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group. Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...

, and a coal injection plant for SSI at

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...

were interrupted. The situation was attributed to an anticipated £12 million cash shortfall and lack of new orders. A £5 million loan offered by the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

, and commercial settlements with customers, had been insufficient to prevent Administration. Purchasers were not initially forthcoming for the business. The Administrator completed viable contracts by either appointing agents to carry out the work; transferring them to Rowecord group companies, or negotiating exits. Administration became

Liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

in 2014. Creditors suffered a £29 million loss.

Aftermath

The holding company, Neptune Works and fellow subsidiaries survived. Those were Andrew Scott Ltd (

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

and construction), Braithwaite Engineering Ltd (pressed steel tanks), Industrial Planners and Constructors Ltd (

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

distribution) and Rowecord Total Access Ltd (

scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...

). The interest in Neptune Works was sold by Rowecord Holdings Ltd during 2014, and remaining subsidiaries moved out. Braithwaite Engineers Ltd resumed structural steel fabrication at

Risca Risca ( cy, Rhisga) is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough and the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. Risca has a railway station, opened on the Ebbw Valley Railway in February 2008, after a gap of 46 years. It is spl ...

in 2016 but in 2019 sold that site and structural steel fabrication business to William Hare Group. Braithwaite retained their pressed steel fluid storage product range. Benjamin Findley Hoppé was awarded an OBE in 2003 for ''services to the Steel Construction Industry'', and died in 2017.

Neptune Works

Braithwaite and Kirk established Neptune Works beside the

because it had better transport links than their original

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

premises. The plant was subsequently operated by Braithwaite & Co Engineers Ltd / Braithwaite & Co Structural Ltd which was purchased by

Dorman Long Dorman Long & Co was a UK steel producer, later diversifying into bridge building. It was once listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Arthur Dorman and Albert de Lande Long when they acquired ''West Marsh ...

in 1921. It produced structural steelwork, transmission towers,

bridgework A bridge is a fixed dental restoration (a fixed dental prosthesis) used to replace one or more missing teeth by joining an artificial tooth definitively to adjacent teeth or dental implants. Definitions Fixed bridge: A dental prosthesis that ...

, pressed steel tanks, sectional pontoons and foundation cylinders there. Rowecord Engineering Ltd acquired Braithwaite's assets in 1988 and moved to Neptune Works. Following the failure of Rowecord Engineering Ltd in 2013, and the Rowecord Holdings Ltd sale of its interest in the Works in 2014, the remainder of the Rowecord group left. Neptune Works was briefly brought back into production by

Saudi Arabian Saudis ( ar, سعوديون, Suʿūdiyyūn) are people identified with the country of Saudi Arabia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. The Saudis are composed mainly of Arabs and primarily speak a regional dialect ...

Attieh Group backed AIC Steel UK Ltd in 2014. It had purchased assets from Rowecord but, after 2015 restructuring and redundancies, it too appointed an Administrator in 2016.

Associated British Ports Associated British Ports owns and operates 21 ports in the United Kingdom, managing around 25 per cent of the UK's sea-borne trade. The company's activities cover transport, haulage and terminal operations, ship's agency, dredging and marine cons ...

purchased the site in 2018 and leased parts out. A proposals to replace Neptune Works with a visitor centre to serve the nearby

Newport Transporter Bridge The Newport Transporter Bridge ( cy, Pont Gludo Casnewydd) is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk. It is a Grade I listed structure. It is one of f ...

was made in 2022.

Notable projects

References

{{reflist Construction and civil engineering companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies of Wales Engineering companies of Wales Steel companies of the United Kingdom Structural steel Companies based in Newport, Wales British companies established in 1967 Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1967 1967 establishments in Wales