1903 The Port Talbot Iron and Steel Co failed and the steel works at Port Talbot closed.
1906 Baldwins Ltd and the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Co (who wished to acquire a reliable source of steel plate) acquired the closed steel works at Port Talbot, which were incorporated as the Port Talbot Steel Co. Miss Emily Talbot of Margam provided much of the capital as a loan[1]
1908 August: Plate mill started operating; the rail rolling mill was expected to come on line soon[2]
By 1913 was one of the larger steelworks in Britain
1914 New works were under construction - funding by new issue of debentures.
WWI Addition of two basic open-hearth furnaces enabled production of steel for shells.
1916 The Wagon company exchanged its shares for shares in Baldwins[3]
1918 With Baldwins formed the British Steel Corporation[4]
1930 After the formation of British (Guest Keen, Baldwins) Iron and Steel Co, all of the company's heavy steelmaking was concentrated at Port Talbot. Port Talbot became the sole South Wales plate and rail producer.
From the mid 1930s Port Talbot/Margam operated at or near full capacity which was reflected in growing profits and a major contribution to Britain's war effort during World War Two.
1947 Port Talbot/Margam became part of Steel Company of Wales
See Also
Sources of Information
- History of the Steel Industry in the Port Talbot Area 1900-1988 [1]