MG SAIC close longbridge facility

marinabrian · 13th May 2019, 23:54

My apprenticeship was served at Thor Tools (Stewart-Warner) at West Chirton industrial estate South.

Clicking on this LINK takes you to the satellite view of the former site of the factory which ran the full length of Exmouth Road, and down the majority of Bournemouth Road, and was bordered by Portsmouth Road.

The company was formerly known as the Armstrong Whitworth Pneumatic tool company, history can be found HERE

My workshop was known as the FoMoCo room, primarily as the original big customer was Ford, although every main motor vehicle manufacturer was catered for.

At the time I began work there were 900 people employed on the site, almost all of which were highly skilled, with a smattering of semi skilled in the fitting shop.

The American parent company, Stewart Warner was purchased in 1987 by BTR, and the asset stripping of the company began.

By the time I received my redundancy notice in 1991, there were less than 100 employees on site.

So what is the point of this trip down memory lane? well this was a local company with an international owner, under who's ownership was at the time returning an annual pretax profit in the late 1980's in excess of 15 million, and had existed on the same site since the 1930's providing good quality secure employment

So what has this been replaced with? nothing, the site has long since been levelled, and is a mess of scrub.........if I drive down the length of Exmouth Road, I can still picture in my minds eye, the machine shop, the drawing office, the payroll office, where the entire factory workforce lined up on a Friday afternoon, to receive their weeks pay in a brown envelope, then down Bournemouth Road where the fitting shop was, the testing room, and finally my workshop.

Gone forever a facility that made things to sell both in the UK, and globally, the combined skill and knowledge of many generations.

Therein lies the problem, the goose which laid the golden eggs was killed to satisfy the greed of the BTR hatchet men and the short term goal of satisfying the soft hands of the shareholders, who had never experienced real creativity.

Every now and again, I will bump into a former employee of this operation, and it goes without saying, names some half forgotten will roll off the tongue and once again I will become slightly misty eyed.

Is there a point to this trip down memory lane? I don't suppose there is, but when I think of the people I met at the many motor manufacturing facilities around the UK and beyond in that former life, and the complete waste of all of that skill it saddens me.

So if I'm asked if I'm bitter about alien ownership of British industry, sold off in a spiv like fashion, then the answer is yes.........and listening to the reports of the British economy measured in retail performance, housing prices, and such, makes my blood boil.

Brian

13th May 2019, 23:54	#11
marinabrian MG ZT Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne Posts: 20,151 Thanks: 3,565 Thanked 10,837 Times in 5,718 Posts	My apprenticeship was served at Thor Tools (Stewart-Warner) at West Chirton industrial estate South. Clicking on this LINK takes you to the satellite view of the former site of the factory which ran the full length of Exmouth Road, and down the majority of Bournemouth Road, and was bordered by Portsmouth Road. The company was formerly known as the Armstrong Whitworth Pneumatic tool company, history can be found HERE My workshop was known as the FoMoCo room, primarily as the original big customer was Ford, although every main motor vehicle manufacturer was catered for. At the time I began work there were 900 people employed on the site, almost all of which were highly skilled, with a smattering of semi skilled in the fitting shop. The American parent company, Stewart Warner was purchased in 1987 by BTR, and the asset stripping of the company began. By the time I received my redundancy notice in 1991, there were less than 100 employees on site. So what is the point of this trip down memory lane? well this was a local company with an international owner, under who's ownership was at the time returning an annual pretax profit in the late 1980's in excess of 15 million, and had existed on the same site since the 1930's providing good quality secure employment So what has this been replaced with? nothing, the site has long since been levelled, and is a mess of scrub.........if I drive down the length of Exmouth Road, I can still picture in my minds eye, the machine shop, the drawing office, the payroll office, where the entire factory workforce lined up on a Friday afternoon, to receive their weeks pay in a brown envelope, then down Bournemouth Road where the fitting shop was, the testing room, and finally my workshop. Gone forever a facility that made things to sell both in the UK, and globally, the combined skill and knowledge of many generations. Therein lies the problem, the goose which laid the golden eggs was killed to satisfy the greed of the BTR hatchet men and the short term goal of satisfying the soft hands of the shareholders, who had never experienced real creativity. Every now and again, I will bump into a former employee of this operation, and it goes without saying, names some half forgotten will roll off the tongue and once again I will become slightly misty eyed. Is there a point to this trip down memory lane? I don't suppose there is, but when I think of the people I met at the many motor manufacturing facilities around the UK and beyond in that former life, and the complete waste of all of that skill it saddens me. So if I'm asked if I'm bitter about alien ownership of British industry, sold off in a spiv like fashion, then the answer is yes.........and listening to the reports of the British economy measured in retail performance, housing prices, and such, makes my blood boil. Brian