Manufacturing near me - What used to be made in your back yard

[Windy Miller]

Just down the road from me in Strood we used to have Wingates where they made dumper trucks. A little further on was Aveling & Porter, famous for their steam engines. Then there was CAV making diesel pumps, and of course there was Chatham Dockyard where they built and repaired worships and submarines. All gone now sadly
Edit:
Another one just came to mind - The Shorts factory on the river bank in Rochester - manufacturers of the Short Sunderland flying boat!

 

[Kayos]

Exactly.

Drive on the main road through where I am right now, and you would not know a mile down the dead end side road is a multi-million pound engineering manufacturing business, with a multi-million spares operation, with many engineers employed, a second site a few miles away, another a few more miles that is brand new refurb of an old factory.

All of which in turn keeps hundreds of suppliers in work up and down the country, some of those also in dead end streets you never go down.

We still manufacture stuff in the UK, we still send it all over the world, "Made in England" still means something in places around the world. I delight in telling US customs the reason I'm visiting - that we make stuff they can't . . . they mostly take it well

It's just different to what it was. Stop bemoaning a past most of us would not want to work in.

I know my examples are industry specific, but you only have to look to see what we do make
Usually world leading items

 

[Bravheart]

I live in the middle of nowhere very close. Next door is the domed remains of a clay kiln. It used to make those red clay drain tiles and on the hillside there's now a wood plantation. One hundred + years ago it was a village with over a thousand inhabitants. Probably closed down and wiped out by plastic wavy coil piping.

 

[Wildefalcon]

They do heavy steel works in my town. Big bridges. Pumps for the oil industry. Lots of smaller outfits, doing turning, fabrication and so fourth. If you want something done. Someone in the UK will do it. Unlike most countries.

 

[Maker]

Then there was CAV making diesel pumps,

CAV employed pretty much everyone in Sudbury 40 or 50 years ago, then it became Lucas and it's now Delphi, same site still making diesel injectors, but clearly with far fewer staff.

 

[8ob]

We had the Dennis factory in Guildford, they made trucks, buses and fire engines. Factory shrank over the years as they downsized and production has now gone to the EU because of the B word.

600 × 369

 

[Bravheart]

Think Dennis are still in Scotland post f**k up make busses and stuff up here

 

[Mick Annick]

We had the Dennis factory in Guildford, they made trucks, buses and fire engines. Factory shrank over the years as they downsized and production has now gone to the EU because of the B word.

View attachment 388502600 × 369

Father in law worked there assembling gearboxes, after doing his apprenticeship at Vickers Weybridge.

 

[mtt.tr]

I have a sash clamp stamped 'southwalk' can't imagine a foundry there.

 

[Keith 66]

Just down the road was Underwoods boatyard & in Old Leigh Johnsons & Jago & several more, the first two churned out MFV's & fairmiles for WW2 then built yachts. The first is now a bus turnaround the second one a layup site. Southend engineering had an excellent foundry & made bronze fittings & seacocks etc, they folded 30 years ago & its now an arts & crafts shop.
On Canvey there were a number of big boat manufacturers, Thames marine, Prout catamarans, Jaguar yachts, they have all gone now.
Blyth Power cats is still going building windfarm support vessels.
There are still a number of small engineering shops scattered about but i dont know what they make.
Thing that worries me about all this is that the education system is moving away from practical subjects at least in schools, too many have dropped D&T as a subject & kids are not getting any basic training in any practical subject before they get to college or the workplace, They all want to do meeja studies.
So where are the engineers of the future going to come from?

 

[8ob]

Father in law worked there assembling gearboxes, after doing his apprenticeship at Vickers Weybridge.

They had some top guys, an autosparks that worked there used to make up wiring harness`s for me. I think Germany now has the lions share of what they used to make. Not sure but think Scotland are still making the buses, thats not looking too good atm, seems to be surviving on handouts.

UK's biggest bus builder which cuts a quarter of workforce got £8.3m in 'job securing' Scots public funds

BRITAIN'S biggest coach builder is planning to axe a quarter of its Scottish workforce having received over £8m in 'job securing' taxpayer funding…

www.heraldscotland.com

 

[Bravheart]

They had some top guys, an autosparks that worked there used to make up wiring harness`s for me. I think Germany now has the lions share of what they used to make. Not sure but think Scotland are still making the buses, thats not looking too good atm, seems to be surviving on handouts.

UK's biggest bus builder which cuts a quarter of workforce got £8.3m in 'job securing' Scots public funds

BRITAIN'S biggest coach builder is planning to axe a quarter of its Scottish workforce having received over £8m in 'job securing' taxpayer funding…

www.heraldscotland.com

No doesn't look good for them reading that. Junior applied for a job there on the green research and development side mentioned above, got an interview but couldn't make the date ADL wouldn't reshuffle even though there were two days of interviews so end of. It was their way or no way perhaps they are missing the best talents, who knows. Anyway for the best now by the looks of things.

 

[pressbrake1]

I hate comments like this

Just because we don't build (as many) lathes, the UK is a world leader in manufacturing

One example I have recently been involved in

Last week, SSE Energy Solutions had privilege of visiting the Clade Engineering Systems (https://lnkd.in/eJmaY_hF) factory in Leeds, where they construct and produce Air Source Heat Pumps (#ASHPs)… | Ivana M.

Last week, SSE Energy Solutions had privilege of visiting the Clade Engineering Systems (https://lnkd.in/eJmaY_hF) factory in Leeds, where they construct and produce Air Source Heat Pumps (#ASHPs) using natural refrigerant - carbon dioxide. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Tim Rook for his...

www.linkedin.com

The UK manufacturers many, many, many things. All too easy to bemoan that we don't send children into mills and up chimneys any more

There’s lots of high tech going on but manufacturing that employs many from cleaners general labourers through to engineering , administrative and providing real apprenticeships is thin on the ground

Within 30 m of my home , list major employers and educators all gone, most housing estates now so not even replaced with smaller companies providing employment. Then gov says we should work local to save co2 ….

Hoffman bearings , fords Dagenham, fords radiator, ford aveley , windley bros , Marconi, bae , Colchester lathes , albon engineering, agena machine tools, paxman, York trailers ,
These are all major then there are countless other sub 200 employee companies gone that still provided multi talent employment and apprenticeships and post grad

 

[8ob]

No doesn't look good for them reading that. Junior applied for a job there on the green research and development side mentioned above, got an interview but couldn't make the date ADL wouldn't reshuffle even though there were two days of interviews so end of. It was their way or no way perhaps they are missing the best talents, who knows. Anyway for the best now by the looks of things.

I think the problem with relocations like this are firmly with the industry boards, ailing business`s get offered these sweeteners to move and nobody ever seems to question why they need to. Its all ultimately tax payers money

Bob

 

[Seadog]

There used to be a huge amount of industry in the Lea Valley. AEC started its life in Walthamstow before moving to Southall.

 

[Bravheart]

There used to be a huge amount of industry in the Lea Valley. AEC started its life in Walthamstow before moving to Southall.

We had a big (for this area) electronics company claiming hardships and got region/government grants as a major employer to buy some super duper new machines to make them more efficient and competitive.
A short time later they closed the doors stripping all the machines out and relocating the lot abroad.
New machines now located in a developing country where they got grants to establish themselves.
Win win for them at our expense.

Edit. Oops was replying to @8ob s post managed to link the wrong one apologies.

 

[Onoff]

I have a sash clamp stamped 'southwalk' can't imagine a foundry there.

Think again!

London’s Industrial Revolution – Discovering the capital’s working past in Southwark

The Industrial Revolution was “a storm that passed over London and broke elsewhere,” suggested J R Hammond, writing in 1925. And the author wasn’t alone in this view: “The capital citie…

pastinthepresent.net

My Grayson lathe was made in Farringdon.

 

[droopsnoot]

Locally we used to make steam locos, then diesel and electric, now I think they service bogies but that's about it. We also used to make two well-known brands of luxury car, but now just the one. A little further away we had two once-related truck manufacturers, then one, and now they're gone. We used to make steel rolls (for what, I know not), and fuel tanks for a not-too-distant small sports car manufacturer. We do still make ice-cream vans, horse boxes, pies, aerosol paints, exhausts, and probably a load of other stuff.

 

[mtt.tr]

Think again!

London’s Industrial Revolution – Discovering the capital’s working past in Southwark

The Industrial Revolution was “a storm that passed over London and broke elsewhere,” suggested J R Hammond, writing in 1925. And the author wasn’t alone in this view: “The capital citie…

pastinthepresent.net

My Grayson lathe was made in Farringdon.

I meant as in current times.

London had some amazing manufacturers in the past

 

[pressbrake1]

I meant as in current times.

London had some amazing manufacturers in the past

Still a few foundry in London for now….
Land is worth too much in London and most of uk for low £ per square metre business

Holbrook lathes in Stratford. Newall engineering. B Elliot are famous ones