sheerness steelworks

[ronan]

loads of nice materials and equipment waiting for the usual lowlife to nick , pity.

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php/73910-Sheerness-Steelworks-Aug-2012

 

[stormin]

The other great pity is that there's probably a good few skilled workers sat on the dole whilst some foreign owners faff about deciding whether they'll open the works back up again, and the longer they faff the less likely it'll happen.

 

[Engineer1964]

Problem is this country!!

We're more than happy to let UK owned businesses go to pot and lay everyone off whilst giving millions in Grants to foriegn companies to buy ailing businesses, When the foriegn company can't make the quick buck it wants it closes down anyway, What a complete waste of taxpayers money.

What we need to do is to pump money into british industry, Pay for training and get back up to the top where we should be, Engineering in the UK is a sad place to be nowdays, But 50 years ago it was the best.

We let Indian companies buy corus, Landrover and Jaguar, and on top of that we give them nearly 200 Million quid in foriegn aid every year

Why dont we cut the chase and just give all our UK owned companies away for Free

mAKES ME MAD You see now i'm typong in caps and getting spelling errors

 

[ronan]

I was watching the uk oxford region news tonight and it was showing the honda swindon works, they are doubling their output , new engine works etc. Nissan have big plants making cars in the north of england, mini is a runaway success , jag-landrover are estimated to going to make a £1.5 billion profit this year.
So it appears the british designers can come up with appealing designs, british engineers can make the cars reliable and the british worker can produce the cars to the worlds best standards.
Why couldn't this happen when the companies were british owned ? Personally i think the problem was s***e managers. One company i read a lot about was triumph motorcycles , they were very badly run from the mid 60's until they went belly up in the early 80's , Mr.bloor bought the name and they are now up there with the best japanese and german makers.

 

[Engineer1964]

I was watching the uk oxford region news tonight and it was showing the honda swindon works, they are doubling their output , new engine works etc. Nissan have big plants making cars in the north of england, mini is a runaway success , jag-landrover are estimated to going to make a £1.5 billion profit this year.
So it appears the british designers can come up with appealing designs, british engineers can make the cars reliable and the british worker can produce the cars to the worlds best standards.
Why couldn't this happen when the companies were british owned ? Personally i think the problem was s***e managers. One company i read a lot about was triumph motorcycles , they were very badly run from the mid 60's until they went belly up in the early 80's , Mr.bloor bought the name and they are now up there with the best japanese and german makers.

I agree with ya buddy 100%

Hard work, Good pay and no hassle with unions can make this country great again, Just found out a few weeks back were still giving Tata cars 12 Million a year as part of the takeover grants etc... They are making billions and were still giving them millions Jesus it makes me mad.

Triumph motorcycles is the lead which we need to learn from

 

[chunkolini]

Interesting stuff, another industrial tragedy.

Off topic, I watched 28 days later few days ago what an awful stupid film.
Like Dr Who circa 1974.
The opening scenes in the city were good and soundtracked by Godspeedyoublackemperor but after that it sinks into foolishness and contrivance.

 

[ronan]

I agree with ya buddy 100%

Hard work, Good pay and no hassle with unions can make this country great again, Just found out a few weeks back were still giving Tata cars 12 Million a year as part of the takeover grants etc... They are making billions and were still giving them millions Jesus it makes me mad.

Triumph motorcycles is the lead which we need to learn from

I think the unions were blamed for too much to be honest, but they will never be in such a position of power again anyway. speaking of british manufacturing , are colchester lathes still in colchester or have they any design offices or anything left there ?

 

[Engineer1964]

I think the unions were blamed for too much to be honest, but they will never be in such a position of power again anyway. speaking of british manufacturing , are colchester lathes still in colchester or have they any design offices or anything left there ?

Nope all gone now about 1992, Replaced by a 24hr tesco, They used to be a big employer in the town along with Paxman Diesels, Both sadly no longer with us

The Lathes are still made by Colchester Harrision http://www.colchester-harrison.com/subpage.asp?id=72 I guess was the company which bought them

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/CAyqN6AcQNqWI7sB_GhXVg

and a little bit of engineering history about colchester

ENGINEERING.
Thomas Catchpool & Son in High Street, later Catchpool, Stannard, & Stanford, and then Stanford & Co., continued to specialize in farming equipment. The firm grew into a small manufacturing company, and by 1890 was exporting to home and foreign markets, and had also diversified into marine engine repairs. It closed in 1924. (fn. 76)
Dearn's foundry, near St. Botolph's station, was taken over in 1861 by Joseph Blomfield, an ironmonger, and his partner Thomas Mayhew Bear, who developed the Britannia works alongside Dearn's. The firm also had a London depot and showroom for c. 20 years. It made sewing machines, and in 1871 employed 105 people, but by the 1880s the Singer Co. dominated the sewing machine market, and the Britannia works switched to making machine tools and oil engines, supplying markets all over Britain and accepting government contracts. By 1900 the firm was in difficulties and was taken over by Victor, Hugh, and Percy Nicholson, who also made motor cars on the site, but without much success. The works were closed c. 1912, but reopened in 1914 for munitions work. In 1918 the Britannia Lathe & Oil Engine Co. was operating again, still owned by the Nicholsons. It closed in 1938. (fn. 77)
In 1865 James Paxman, who had been Catchpool's chief engineer from 1851, set up Davey, Paxman & Co., an engineering firm, in Culver Street, helped by capital provided by C. M. and H. M. Davey. In 1873 he opened a second factory, the Standard ironworks, off Hythe Hill, but continued to operate at Culver Street simultaneously until 1877 when, faced with a major liquidity crisis during a recession in engineering, he sold that business to A. G. Mumford. Paxman took over the entire remaining Davey Paxman business when the Daveys retired. Many new types of engines and steam boilers were made for export, being exhibited at international exhibitions and winning prizes. Paxman's engines lit the 1889 Paris exhibition, and from 1898 were used in Colchester's municipal electricity undertaking. The firm's products included engines for South African mines, refrigerating equipment for ships, and generators for factories and tramways. In 1898 Paxman's became a limited liability company, the shares being held mostly by Paxman's friends and family. Wilson Marriage joined the Paxmans in the directorship, and Percy Sanders was managing director from 1912. In 1915 the works covered more than 11 a. and employed nearly 1,000 people. During the First World War women were employed and new machinery was built to carry out secret war work for the government. (fn. 78)
The wartime interruption of international trade caused Paxman's to lose many of its overseas markets. In 1920 it joined with other firms to become Agricultural and General Engineers Ltd., which in 1926 was critical of the outdated methods used at the Standard ironworks. A.G.E. collapsed in 1932 and the Colchester part was re-formed as Davey, Paxman (Colchester) Ltd., which in 1940 acquired the derelict Britannia Works. Improvements made under the leadership of E. P. Paxman resulted in the successful production of diesel engines, large quantities of which were produced for military purposes in the Second World War. (fn. 79)
A. G. Mumford, having bought Paxman's building in Culver Street in 1877, traded as the Culver Street Ironworks, employing c. 300 people by 1907 and specializing in steam pumps and small marine engines, many for British and foreign governments. (fn. 80) The firm closed in 1933, partly because the next generation of the Mumford family did not want to continue the business; the pump work continued under Truslove's in Brown's old silk factory. (fn. 81) Four engineering firms established between 1899 and 1907 at the Hythe survived the depression: Brackett's, the Colchester Lathe Co., the Pasley Engineering Co., and Wood's. Engineering firms benefitted in the 1940s from the demands of a wartime economy. Wood's, manufacturers of fans, expanded its workforce to nearly 1,000, including many women, to supply large quantities of equipment for ships, and also wireless and transmitting sets. The Lathe Co. mass-produced lathes on a larger scale. Colchester firms co-operated closely in wartime, with Paxman's providing engines and Wood's ventilation for tanks, and Mason's, a printing firm, supplying other tank components

From: 'Modern Colchester: Economic development', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9: The Borough of Colchester (1994), pp. 179-198. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=21987 Date accessed: 07 September 2012.

 

[tigler]

The example of Triumph motorcycles is a good analogy of the fate of much of British industry. It was the C word that killed most of it off, complacency. Triumph underestimated the Japanese threat, thinking they would never be able to make or even market big bikes that a proper bike company like Triumph made !! Although Edward Turner tried to wake up the board after a trip to Japan to see for himself what Honda etc were upto they just laughed at him. Mr Turner then retired as he could see the coming storm and couldn't face the prospect of watching the industry die from the inside. Triumph just told it's shareholders that the American market alone would ensure the health of the company and Americans would never buy Jap crap !!

The Bloor era Triumph company has shown for all who care to look what is necessary for a company to succeed globally in today's market. I remember when they launched at the NEC bike show, we were actually supplying them at the time, and I listened to comments from punters as they looked at the range on the stand. The most frequent was, "they are just Kawasaki's with a Triumph badge" Well they weren't but that misbelief was due to the fact that Triumph did what the Japanese did so many years ago, obtained bikes that represented the acknowledged state of the art, reversed engineered them and made their own version even better !! Hence the sighting of a number of Jap bikes at the Triumph factory before they went into production.

John Bloor is a British business hero but just shuns publicity. A great pity, he could be a powerful motivator for other potential entrepreneurs. Despite a government that almost deliberately tries to deter manufacturing, Mr Bloor has proved what can be done with effective investment, management expertise and determination in a market that many thought impossible to penetrate as a new company.

 

[Seano]

Problem is this country!!

We're more than happy to let UK owned businesses go to pot and lay everyone off whilst giving millions in Grants to foriegn companies to buy ailing businesses, When the foriegn company can't make the quick buck it wants it closes down anyway, What a complete waste of taxpayers money.

What we need to do is to pump money into british industry, Pay for training and get back up to the top where we should be, Engineering in the UK is a sad place to be nowdays, But 50 years ago it was the best.

We let Indian companies buy corus, Landrover and Jaguar, and on top of that we give them nearly 200 Million quid in foriegn aid every year

Why dont we cut the chase and just give all our UK owned companies away for Free

mAKES ME MAD You see now i'm typong in caps and getting spelling errors

I was watching the uk oxford region news tonight and it was showing the honda swindon works, they are doubling their output , new engine works etc. Nissan have big plants making cars in the north of england, mini is a runaway success , jag-landrover are estimated to going to make a £1.5 billion profit this year.
So it appears the british designers can come up with appealing designs, british engineers can make the cars reliable and the british worker can produce the cars to the worlds best standards.
Why couldn't this happen when the companies were british owned ? Personally i think the problem was s***e managers. One company i read a lot about was triumph motorcycles , they were very badly run from the mid 60's until they went belly up in the early 80's , Mr.bloor bought the name and they are now up there with the best japanese and german makers.

I agree with ya buddy 100%

Hard work, Good pay and no hassle with unions can make this country great again, Just found out a few weeks back were still giving Tata cars 12 Million a year as part of the takeover grants etc... They are making billions and were still giving them millions Jesus it makes me mad.

Triumph motorcycles is the lead which we need to learn from

I totally agree Gerry/Ronan I grew up in the northeast during the era of Swan Hunters and booming coal mines , I obviously went into engineering, marine to be precise, I know everyone blamed Maggie for the demise of English industry, but in fact it was the unions, she had to take a stand somewhere, now I am no Thatcherite, in fact i hated the woman for what i believed in my early years what happened to this country was all her fault.

But it was the likes of Scargill and Co who really screwed it up, the only time the unions got it right was when the Goven shipyard workers staged a lockin under Gerry Reed, and carried on working and seeing the jobs through, sadly it was all to no avail, there used to be eight fully functioning yards on the Clide, now there is one little yard left.

It makes me sick he way this country has treated itself, RR Aerospace to the Germans next boy's, why don't we just put a big sign up on the white cliffs reading.....FOR SALE....One Country, Ailing Economy, Rapidly Heading Towards Third World Status, Going Cheap, OIRO....

 

[ronan]

Its a pity john bloor is such a recluse , i'd say he would be better on these business shows than ol' arrogant a**e alan sugar. his range of bikes clawing their way back to success is a much more interesting tale than another pita , namely dyson and his appliances for sucking up crap. He seems to be wheeled out for his opinion every time manufacturing is discussed on the goggle box.

 

[ChrisJohnsSculpture]

One of the big problems is that it's 'business' rather than 'industry' which has always been valued in this country and acquiring money is seen as more important than generating wealth.

As soon as an industry became successful it got bought up and used as a money box by the financial sector and gradually allowed to decline through lack of investment.

Part of this is due to a widespread social norm that if you don't wear a suit and sit at a desk all day, or god forbid if you do a job which involves getting your hands dirty then you must be a bit stupid. An attitude which is reinforced by an educational system where 'vocational' qualifications are a dumping ground for the 'less able' and you can do a 3 year engineering degree without setting foot inside a workshop or even seeing a machine tool outside of a textbook.

 

[ronan]

One of the big problems is that it's 'business' rather than 'industry' which has always been valued in this country and acquiring money is seen as more important than generating wealth.

As soon as an industry became successful it got bought up and used as a money box by the financial sector and gradually allowed to decline through lack of investment.

Part of this is due to a widespread social norm that if you don't wear a suit and sit at a desk all day, or god forbid if you do a job which involves getting your hands dirty then you must be a bit stupid. An attitude which is reinforced by an educational system where 'vocational' qualifications are a dumping ground for the 'less able' and you can do a 3 year engineering degree without setting foot inside a workshop or even seeing a machine tool outside of a textbook.

Agree completely.

 

[tigler]

Somebody tell Mr.Bloor !! He started out as a plasterer !! His sons initiation into Triumph was to start on the shop floor to learn the business from the bottom up ! I was lucky enough to meet him once, briefly. He is a no nonsense bloke, very driven and mindful, if not paranoid of wasting time, and he always travels cattle class. What struck me about the people that worked at Triumph, when we were supplying them, was that behaved like they were being watched. Meetings and visits were all business, no small talk. We just went to a meeting room, discuss the issue at hand, conclusion, job done, goodbye !! Can't deny it works though ! The country needs a bloke like him as Prime Minister !