Plans to create 400 new jobs by building the UK’s biggest car wheel plant in Fort William are due to be lodged within weeks.
Public consultation events will be held in the town next week ahead of a formal planning application being lodged by the GFG Alliance in early November.
If approved, the plant would convert liquid aluminium from the nearby smelter into approximately two million alloy wheels a year – a quarter of all car wheels in Britain.
No other factory in the country produces wheels on that scale, and local politicians have raised hopes the project could play a key role in a “re-industrialisation of the Highlands”.
Almost a year of uncertainty over the future of Fort William’s Alcan aluminium smelter was ended in November when it was announced that Liberty House and SIMEC – part of the GFG Alliance – would buy the assets previously owned by mining giant Rio Tinto.
The £330million deal secured the jobs of 170 workers, and in December the new owners said they would create hundreds of new posts by establishing a car parts factory at the site.
Brian King, managing director Lochaber operations for the GFG Alliance, said last night: “Our ambition is for this plant to become a leader in its field, producing the most advanced products on the market and employing highly-skilled people.”
“This is a very exciting plan for Fort William and the Highlands and we’re looking forward to discussing it directly with local people and stakeholders.”
He disclosed that he and colleagues have already been talking to local school and college representatives to explain the career opportunities the plant will create.
Education, housing, infrastructure and local services to support the investment are already being planned by the Lochaber Joint Delivery Group, brought together by Scottish Government which comprises representatives from local authorities, public sector agencies, community groups and GFG itself.
Representatives of the GFG Alliance will be on hand at the Ben Nevis Hotel, Fort William, from 2:30pm–7:30pm on Thursday, September 28, for the first consultation event, with another due to be scheduled.