00:00The blast furnace that is being closed today is over 60 years old.
00:06Its days were numbered.
00:08It was always the intention that it would close.
00:11We would have liked it to last a little bit longer,
00:13but alas, it hasn't been able to.
00:16But the new owner will still have to recapitalise in the steelworks
00:20to bring in new equipment, new technology,
00:22to ensure that we retain a sovereign steelmaking capability in this country.
00:28Final thing I'd say is this.
00:31You know, in offices like this one, it's impossible to appreciate this
00:36and it would be impossible to really communicate it
00:39in such a way that does justice to it down a television camera.
00:44But we were, you know, Tom and Lawrence and I
00:48were really keen to be here with representatives of the unions and the workers,
00:53to be on the ground looking workers in the eye this morning.
00:59You know, these are good people that have worked incredibly hard.
01:06The very fact that we've got steelmaking in this country in no small part
01:10is only because of the men and women that have been working on this blast furnace,
01:17trying to keep it alive for as long as they have.
01:18This thing, like, for all intents and purposes, this thing should not be operating, right?
01:25And it's only been able to survive because there are so many dedicated men and women
01:30who have kept it alive.
01:31And, you know, our thanks are with them, understanding that we've now got a bit of a stockpile
01:39of billet that allows the rest of the steelworks to operate.
01:42If they, if these men and women weren't able to keep the blast furnace going for as long as they
01:47have,
01:47there'd be other people who would have lost their jobs already.
01:49Thanks, Bertie.
01:50Thanks.
01:50någon
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