BRITISH entrepreneur and steel industry magnate Sanjeev Gupta will be at Mayfield this morning to celebrate the centenary of Infrabuild Wire's Newcastle Wire Mill, one of the downstream industries that grew up with BHP's Newcastle steelworks.
Mr Gupta heads the family owned businesses Liberty House Group and GFG (Gupta Family Group) Alliance, which have bought ailing steel mills in various countries to form one of the world's largest steel companies, employing a reported 14,000 or more people.
The 48-year-old bought the Whyalla steelworks and the rest of the OneSteel business from its financial administrators in August 2017.
Mr Gupta had talked about selling some of his Australian businesses earlier this year, but there has been little or no mention of this recently.
Further reading: Whyalla owner's "long-term plans" for the business
Speaking before today's ceremony, Mr Gupta said he was proud to acknowledge the history of the site.
Infrabuild Wire, a member of the GFG Alliance, is celebrating 100 years of continuous
manufacturing today with senior business and government leaders coming together to mark
the occasion.
Executive Chairman of GFG Alliance Sanjeev Gupta said: "Today is an exciting day to acknowledge the proud history of this site.
"Generations of proud Newcastle steelmakers and local community have contributed to the success of this business, passing down their skills from parent to child, from master to apprentice," Mr Gupta said.
"As a member of GFG Alliance for the last two years, it has become apparent to me the passion the team has for producing high quality products that Australians use every day.
"This facility has produced wire to help protect Australia, from producing barbed wire for Allied forces in World War I to the anti-submarine nets lining Sydney Harbour during World War II.
"It has also helped to build Australia. New South Wales' tallest building, Sydney Tower, is supported by hundreds of metres of roping wire manufactured right here.
"I want to congratulate the InfraBuild wire team for this incredible milestone of reaching 100 years and wish it all the best for the next 100 years."
InfraBuild chief executive Daksesh Patel said the Newcastle mills played an important role in the Australian business.
"Our steel comes from GFG's steel mills around Australia and then manufactured to exacting specifications on site," Mr Patel said.
"InfraBuild wire has over 300 dedicated employees that help us achieve this every day with many of them having been with the company for over 20 years.
"InfraBuild Wire is part of the broader InfraBuild business that includes over 1200 employees within Newcastle.
"We also have a further 1,000 contractors from around the Hunter region that help us to deliver for our customers."
Read a full report on Mr Gupta's visit in tomorrow's Newcastle Herald.
