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donut

donut

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well ,thats it then ,,yesterday i walked out of the factory where i've worked out of for the best part of twenty years ,,they've shut it down ,and as i walked over to my car to go home , my last look at the yard



wonder if they'll get any takers?
 
glass ( saint-gobain ///solaglas sittingbourne )
 
Sorry to hear the news. Although most employers normally don't allow it, I hope you got some inside shots too as a record.
 
and it will be the same for me after 12 years in 6 weeks :( , OP how are you doing looking for work ? :)
 
Sorry to hear that mate. 20 Years! That's some bloody good going.
Half the yoof of today won't do 20 minutes
 
It's pretty bad all round unfortunately. I was laid off myself last month and three guys I know have been made redundant this month alone. On the subject of photography, many firms won't allow cameras inside. In my case where I used to work, nearly all the machinery dated back to the 1950s, so it's not as if we were at the cutting edge of modern technology, but there you go.
 
Carl V said:
It's pretty bad all round unfortunately. I was laid off myself last month and three guys I know have been made redundant this month alone. On the subject of photography, many firms won't allow cameras inside. In my case where I used to work, nearly all the machinery dated back to the 1950s, so it's not as if we were at the cutting edge of modern technology, but there you go.
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It's not the machinery so much as what is produced. Ford's is the same. There are still abandoned parts of the car body assembly area in Dagenham. Spot welders etc. just hanging from the iron work. When the production stopped, the workers who had taken redundancy, were escorted to their lockers then off the premises by security. Their work stations stood abandoned as if they had been abducted by aliens for a few years. It's only as we have salvaged stuff to use elsewhere that some of it has become disturbed. Some areas have been reused for storage or sub assemblies to be shipped to other factories, but the majority of the upper floor is derelict really. It's hard to imagine that just a few years back hundreds of car body shells would have been passing overhead heading for the paint dip and assembly plant across the road.
 
When I got made redundant after 18 years, I took some moody black and white shots to capture the despair I felt. Now, 14 years on, I look back and see that what happened was actually a blessing indisguise - even though it took the best part of a year to find another job - as my present job is so much more rewarding.
 
thanks for all your replies ,,,
flash ,,,we didnt do windscreens ,,,just laminated glass ,security and bullet / blast resistant
steveb ,,,we knew eight weeks ago that it was to shut , so i went round with camera to get those inside shots,,didnt have a tripod with me ,so was walking about with a tall wooden box to put the camera on then using the self timer

paulyoung666,,,,,,,luckily for some of us at the factory ( 37 bodies ) morrisons supermarket are just about to open a huge RDC almost next door , so ive been lucky enough to get a job with them ( driving ) its even a bit more than i was earning at the glass place so ,,,a result

marcel ,,im 48 now, so i might have another twenty left in me yet ,the retirement age will be at least eighty by then anyway ,,so starting again

thanks all
 
nilagin said:
It's not the machinery so much as what is produced. Ford's is the same. There are still abandoned parts of the car body assembly area in Dagenham. Spot welders etc. just hanging from the iron work. When the production stopped, the workers who had taken redundancy, were escorted to their lockers then off the premises by security. Their work stations stood abandoned as if they had been abducted by aliens for a few years. It's only as we have salvaged stuff to use elsewhere that some of it has become disturbed. Some areas have been reused for storage or sub assemblies to be shipped to other factories, but the majority of the upper floor is derelict really. It's hard to imagine that just a few years back hundreds of car body shells would have been passing overhead heading for the paint dip and assembly plant across the road.
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Thanks for that Nilagin and it is very sad really to see manufacturing industries gradually disappearing. In our case the factory is still there but with a much smaller workforce and they're on a short working week for the time being. But with some of the work being done in India and Eastern European plants, for a fraction of the cost I dare say, I'm not sure how much longer they can go on for.
 
Carl V said:
Thanks for that Nilagin and it is very sad really to see manufacturing industries gradually disappearing. In our case the factory is still there but with a much smaller workforce and they're on a short working week for the time being. But with some of the work being done in India and Eastern European plants, for a fraction of the cost I dare say, I'm not sure how much longer they can go on for.
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I work in new press tool construction. (Press tools for future cars, currently working on next C Max, and Focus). We have to contend with cheaper toolrooms in Eastern Europe as well as Asia. Thankfully our jobs are safe guarded to a certain extent as Ford have decided to ensure that all vehicle skin panel tooling is built by Ford toolrooms. This is on the back of BMW having had some of their tooling built in China. They then found out the Chinese firm had built duplicate sets of tools to produce their own panels to sell as spares.
Also our press shop is Ford's most economic in Europe. Reason being it is the oldest with no investment in new machinery in years. Other press shops are still having to pay for the machinery installed. Ours is just a case of trying to keep it maintained and running. I believe there is in the region of 4,000 people working on the Dagenham Estate (Press shop/Tooling and Engine Plant) Years ago before I started working there (30 yrs this September) it was over 40,000.
When I get to work before early shift, the sun is usually shining orange through the windows across the now cordoned off waste area. It would make for some great photos but I live in hope of another 18 years service, so I've given up on the idea of taking any photos.
 
I was one of thousands made redundant in the 80s when nearly all the mines closed, whole areas of men looking for other work, and with greatly reduced wages, I remember an old saying "tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life" with hundreds of ex-miners after a hand full of jobs I started my own business, I wish I had done it years before, but I just needed that push. not much conciliation to you now, but in a year or two you may, like me, put the past behind and find a better future.......HOPE YOU DO...ALL THE BEST FOR THE FUTURE
 
A great picture that tells it as it is ........... good luck m8 .... it will be the push you needed to move on to greater things :thumbs:
 
donutagain said:
thanks for all your replies ,,,
flash ,,,we didnt do windscreens ,,,just laminated glass ,security and bullet / blast resistant
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Gotcha, just the name was familiar as an automotive glass supplier. You'd think bullet and blast-resistant glass would be a growth industry nowadays :shrug:
 
Gary said:
the most screwed up thing at the moment is that unemployment is rising and house prices are going up.. a sure formula for the rich/poor divide to get worse
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Blame Thatcher, the current woes can on the whole be traced back to her.

My name's Ben Elton - good night :lol:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Gotcha, just the name was familiar as an automotive glass supplier. You'd think bullet and blast-resistant glass would be a growth industry nowadays :shrug:
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what with golden brown and his mates telling us we are all going to be targets for terrorists,,wait a minute , we must be safe because we're the ones with the cameras :lol:
 
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