The state-owned company specialises in the production of large bespoke steel castings and forgings, as well as standard rolls, ingots and bars.

[3] During the 1980s, Forgemasters was one of several British companies that manufactured components destined for the Iraqi Project Babylon "supergun", which it had believed were for a petrochemical refinery.

In mid-1997, Forgemasters announced a plan to demerging its aerospace and engineering divisions into two separate companies; this move was stated to be in preparation for their flotation.

[12][13] In the late 2000s, Forgemasters launched an effort to acquire a 15,000 tonne forging press for manufacturing ultra-large civil nuclear components.

[18] In mid 2017, Vulcan SFM (Forgemasters' offshore division) was awarded a £5.5 million contract by Samsung Heavy Industries to produce 73 steel castings for a semi-submersible oil platform.

[22] The company's financial health attracted attention due to its involvement in Britain's nuclear submarine programme.

The loan was underwritten by nuclear submarine contractors BAE Systems, Babcock International and Rolls-Royce Marine Power, in an arrangement negotiated by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD); the intervention forestalled Chinese investment and control in the company.

In March 2018, the arrangement was due to expire in July 2019; Sky News reported that the underwriters were seeking a replacement to Honeyman, possibly as a precondition for renewal.

[30] In July 2024, the MOD announced that it would revived the ability to produce forgings for large caliber gun barrels in collaboration with Sheffield Forgemasters.

[33] That same month, newly-installed Secretary for Defence John Healey toured the Forgemasters plant with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles in the framework of the AUKUS partnership.

[39] During mid 2020s, Forgemasters started using a new electron beam-based welding process that reduced the timescale involved in the construction of compact nuclear reactors from 150 days to two hours.