
Baildon Steelworks () was a major
steelworks
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...
in
Katowice
Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
, Poland. It was located in Katowice districts of
Załęże
Załęże ( German: ''Zalenze'') is a district of Katowice, located in the north-western part of the city, in the central part of the Upper Silesian conurbation, on the Rawa river. It runs along Gliwicka street characteristic tortuous course o ...
and
Dąb.
Founded in 1823 (then in
Prussian Silesia
The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a provinces of Prussia, province of Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part ...
), it was named after Scottish engineer
John Baildon who founded the steelworks in 1823, he was invited by Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden. The plant was refurbished in 1996 when the former rolling mill was replaced by brand new 16-standed continuous rolling line.
The steelworks were a major local employer and landmark until its liquidation in 2001.
On August 10, 2001, 2,500 steelworkers staged one of the largest demonstrations in Poland since the 1980s. Protesters marched to the district administrative office to demand that their jobs be saved.
Gonar Company, kept the steel making shop open for several years after this, however later this shut down as well.
In 2004, Rüdiger Winterhager acquired the rolling mill from the insolvency estate. Since then, the plant has been operated as part of the BGH group.
It sponsored a major sports club, KS
Baildon Katowice.
References
External links
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Buildings and structures in Katowice
1823 establishments in Poland
Iron and steel mills in Poland
2001 disestablishments in Poland
Manufacturing companies established in 1823
Polish Joint-stock companies
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