Rowecord Engineering, Newport: Steel firm in administration

The Newport firm which built the roof of the Aquatics Centre for the London Olympics is to go into administration, with the likely loss of up to 400 jobs.

Rowecord Engineering Ltd said its staff were "likely to be informed that their roles will be redundant".

The firm has also worked on many landmark Welsh projects, such as the Cardiff City Stadium and the Parc y Scarlets rugby ground in Llanelli.

Rowecord is the biggest steel contractor in Wales.

Administrators are to be appointed on Monday.

Managing director Andrew Hoppe said: "It is with great regret that we have had to come to the decision to place the business in the hands of the administrators.

"Working with key business partners and the Welsh government, we have exhausted every option to sustain the business for the future.

"We will be looking to mitigate how this development may impact on the workforce.

"We are proud of all we have achieved over 40 years of trading and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our customers, suppliers and other business partners."

"This is a very sad day. We are a family-run company and have a hugely committed, highly capable workforce.

'Deep regret'

"Above all I would like to thank them for their fantastic part in the Rowecord story and express our deep regret for the impact this will have on them and their families."

The firm was founded in 1970 and has been a steelwork contractor on major projects, bridges and industrial process plant.

In addition to the waveform roof of the Olympic Aquatics Centre, the firm has also worked on:

• Parc y Scarlets rugby ground

• Cardiff City Stadium

• Glamorgan County Cricket pavilion

• The BBC Porth Teigr studios in Cardiff Bay

• Blast furnace 5 at Port Talbot steelworks

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "This is very disappointing news especially for the company, its employees and their families.

"The Welsh government has worked closely with Rowecord to support the business and offered assistance to the maximum level allowable within state aid rules.

"However, the offer was not taken up as Rowecord decided that it is in the best interests of its employees and partners to file for administration when a buyer for the business may be identified.

"In the meantime we will ensure that as much support as possible is made available to the employees including the Welsh government ReAct programme."