A new "slitting line" is to be launched at Tata Steel's Hartlepool Tube Mill site as part of a £7m investment.
The manufacturer said the new facilities will mean Hartlepool - which employs about 300 people producing 200,000 tonnes of steel tubes each year - is capable of processing coils of steel delivered from its main Port Talbot steelworks.
Current wide steel slabs are "slit" - cut to specified lengths and widths - at the Welsh facility before being rolled and sent to Hartlepool where they are turned into steel tubes used in everything from agricultural machinery to sports stadiums.
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Tata says the line will take more than a year to establish and that the investment will strengthen its UK business by improving services to customers and reducing emissions.
Andrew Ward, works manager of Tata Steel in Hartlepool, said: “This project will allow us to bring a vital process on site, which in turn will free up thousands of tonnes of capacity at the Port Talbot site.
“This will improve our efficiency and reduce overall CO 2 emissions from our steel processing as well as reducing the total costs across the business.”
Tata also said the investment is expected to pay for itself within three years and is part of a wider ambition to produce net zero steel by 2050.
Mr Ward added: “Above all, safety will be a key factor in this investment both during the construction phase and when the new slitter is up and running. It will feature the latest computer controlled technology, which reduces the need for our employees to be close to any hazardous operations and it will be as energy-efficient as possible.
“The new slitter line will optimise the UK value chain for our smaller tube product range, allowing steel coil to flow through the chain and provide flexibility with on-site slitting . This investment will support the ongoing drive to improve customer delivery performance and responsiveness which the Hartlepool 20” Mill team pride themselves upon.”
