Which one will close - Castel Bromwich or Solihull?
Discussion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8272499.stm
Shame, not been to the LR factory, but the Castle Bromwich site has a lot of history, so would be a shame to close, but I don't think it has the space to build Landies as well...
Shame, not been to the LR factory, but the Castle Bromwich site has a lot of history, so would be a shame to close, but I don't think it has the space to build Landies as well...
I`m surprised Tata don`t close the lot and start again .Each plant is way behind modern manufacturing methods.With both companies on the verge of bankruptcy,I can see Tata withdrawing from the UK altogether long term.
I believe they have sold their interest in Corus, just to prop LRJ. It still mystfies me how the cream of our Car industry can be so mismanaged, as to bring it to the brink of collapse.
I believe they have sold their interest in Corus, just to prop LRJ. It still mystfies me how the cream of our Car industry can be so mismanaged, as to bring it to the brink of collapse.
Ah the unions,not all bad I have to say .I think we forget just how risky working on the assembly line was back in the 70s and 80s. Many employees were exposed to asbestos/ paint dusk/ cleaning agents/contaminated water/contaminated food/without considering the risks of ear damage and many other safety issues. Back in the day you could easy get a job at Ford in Dagenham if you were out of work.It was good money but horrendous hours and conditions.You had to be a union member to even get in, that was the TGWU.
I worked there for sometime to get together some extra cash when made redundant form my regular job. All sorts on the line, docters, engineers builders, plumbers etc etc, just esscaping the rat race.Whilst I was there, there were 3 deaths as a result of Industrial injury, several bouts of food poisoning, ( canteen hygene ),countless cases of blood poisoning, broken legs/arms and hands, repetitive strain injury especially in the wet deck , where I worked . I thank the Unions for improving the standards assembly plant employees now enjoy. Certainly management would always bend the rules, especially duirng the investigations into the serious accidents.
I worked there for sometime to get together some extra cash when made redundant form my regular job. All sorts on the line, docters, engineers builders, plumbers etc etc, just esscaping the rat race.Whilst I was there, there were 3 deaths as a result of Industrial injury, several bouts of food poisoning, ( canteen hygene ),countless cases of blood poisoning, broken legs/arms and hands, repetitive strain injury especially in the wet deck , where I worked . I thank the Unions for improving the standards assembly plant employees now enjoy. Certainly management would always bend the rules, especially duirng the investigations into the serious accidents.
The answer is simple - Solihull should be closed.
Castle Bromwich has an aluminium pressing plant on site, together with state of the art body construction facilities, a modern paintshop and final assembly halls that are effectively brand new. It has a good reputation in the industry for finished vehicle quality. Castle Bromwich has a railhead and is right by the M6. Castle Bromwich overlooks a fairly rough housing estate and if you sold the land for development nobody'd pay that much for it.
Solihull has older facilities, no railhead and is in a relatively desireable area. Local residents would benefit from the plant closing as their property value would increase, and the cleared site would make JLR an absolute fortune.
There is spare manufacturing capacity at Halewood to make all of the displaced Solihull products.
When you look at the situation purely on the basis of a balance sheet it reinforces the above statements.
There will clearly be a few diehard Land Rover enthusiasts who swear that the product needs to be made in Solihull, but for the 99% remaining who just want a new, very capable vehicle, they will be perfectly happy with one built at Halewood (which has a fantastic reputation in the industry for efficiency and quality).
Castle Bromwich has an aluminium pressing plant on site, together with state of the art body construction facilities, a modern paintshop and final assembly halls that are effectively brand new. It has a good reputation in the industry for finished vehicle quality. Castle Bromwich has a railhead and is right by the M6. Castle Bromwich overlooks a fairly rough housing estate and if you sold the land for development nobody'd pay that much for it.
Solihull has older facilities, no railhead and is in a relatively desireable area. Local residents would benefit from the plant closing as their property value would increase, and the cleared site would make JLR an absolute fortune.
There is spare manufacturing capacity at Halewood to make all of the displaced Solihull products.
When you look at the situation purely on the basis of a balance sheet it reinforces the above statements.
There will clearly be a few diehard Land Rover enthusiasts who swear that the product needs to be made in Solihull, but for the 99% remaining who just want a new, very capable vehicle, they will be perfectly happy with one built at Halewood (which has a fantastic reputation in the industry for efficiency and quality).
GavinPearson said:
The answer is simple - Solihull should be closed.
Castle Bromwich has an aluminium pressing plant on site, together with state of the art body construction facilities, a modern paintshop and final assembly halls that are effectively brand new. It has a good reputation in the industry for finished vehicle quality. Castle Bromwich has a railhead and is right by the M6. Castle Bromwich overlooks a fairly rough housing estate and if you sold the land for development nobody'd pay that much for it.
Solihull has older facilities, no railhead and is in a relatively desireable area. Local residents would benefit from the plant closing as their property value would increase, and the cleared site would make JLR an absolute fortune.
There is spare manufacturing capacity at Halewood to make all of the displaced Solihull products.
When you look at the situation purely on the basis of a balance sheet it reinforces the above statements.
There will clearly be a few diehard Land Rover enthusiasts who swear that the product needs to be made in Solihull, but for the 99% remaining who just want a new, very capable vehicle, they will be perfectly happy with one built at Halewood (which has a fantastic reputation in the industry for efficiency and quality).
100% agree with this. Move all LR to Halewood. Freelander is already there, and he new Range Rover LRX is going there. The 5 year plan to close one factory ties in nicely with the current vehicles being built in Solihull there running out. The council want rid of the factory, and build houses. There was also a half-plan a few years back to enlarge the airport, so again the land is very sought after. Castle Bromwich has an aluminium pressing plant on site, together with state of the art body construction facilities, a modern paintshop and final assembly halls that are effectively brand new. It has a good reputation in the industry for finished vehicle quality. Castle Bromwich has a railhead and is right by the M6. Castle Bromwich overlooks a fairly rough housing estate and if you sold the land for development nobody'd pay that much for it.
Solihull has older facilities, no railhead and is in a relatively desireable area. Local residents would benefit from the plant closing as their property value would increase, and the cleared site would make JLR an absolute fortune.
There is spare manufacturing capacity at Halewood to make all of the displaced Solihull products.
When you look at the situation purely on the basis of a balance sheet it reinforces the above statements.
There will clearly be a few diehard Land Rover enthusiasts who swear that the product needs to be made in Solihull, but for the 99% remaining who just want a new, very capable vehicle, they will be perfectly happy with one built at Halewood (which has a fantastic reputation in the industry for efficiency and quality).
What happens to the infra structure around these plants when they close?Degradation when the main employer moves. Dependant businesses close, suppliers close. So how can the estate be worth so much for housing or is there re location of other business in the pipeline?
There were mining villages left to die after Pit closures, does the same apply here?
There were mining villages left to die after Pit closures, does the same apply here?
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