As 175 staff at Grimsby's Bluestar Fibres – once known as Courtaulds – face redundancy, reporter LAURA STUART-COOK looks back at the history of the plant and explores how its demise marks the end of an era.
UP TO 175 of the 238 workers at Grimsby's Bluestar Fibres plant have entered a 45-day consultation period this week that is likely to see them lose their jobs.
Bosses say they have "no option" but to consider a production stoppage at the plant as a result of the economic downturn and a reduction in demand for its carbon fibre precursor product.
The first employees are set to leave the plant on July 23, with the final redundancies on December 31.
Keith Watkin, 62, who worked at the plant for almost 30 years, said the redundancies will be "devastating" for those involved.
He added: "Many people have worked for the company for a very long time and this is going to hit the whole town hard.
"I was made redundant 2006 and it really knocks the wind out of your sails.
"It will be especially difficult for the younger ones because there's nothing out there for them.
"None of my sons live in this area because of the lack of opportunities.
"Courtaulds and Huntsman Tioxide were once two of the most prosperous companies in the town and they will soon both be gone."
Former councillor Mr Watkin, of the Willows Estate, joined Courtaulds in 1976.
He recalls: "It was one of the top factories in the area. With the decline of the fishing industry in Grimsby and the closure of the paper mill, a lot of people went to work for factories.
"The fishermen couldn't believe the difference, because working in a factory wasn't as hard as working at sea and the wages were better.
"When I joined there were the best part of 3,000 people working there.
"Then it just started declining. You could see a big change in the world markets. Orders were diminishing and fashions changed.
"I've talked to people recently who've said that production at the site has stopped for weeks and months at a time over the past few years, so I'm not surprised this is happening. It doesn't make it any less sad though."
So how did a company that once employed 3,000 people in the area come to such a sad demise?
Back in 1952 the site developed rapidly following the acquisition of 500 acres of farmland off Moody Lane.
By the end of that decade, the viscose plant and the site's power station were up and running, and work had begun on the south factory where acrylic carpet fibre would be made.
In the 1960s, the north west and north east factories were opened, and in 1973 the west factory was commissioned.
Although the 1980s saw production commence on the revolutionary "wonder fibre" Tencel, it was a tough decade for the factory as it struggled in the face of dwindling demand and increased competition from overseas.
In 1998, Courtaulds was taken over by Dutch firm AkzoNobel, and the Grimsby operation was renamed Acordis. But the factory continued to struggle.
Three years later, 200 workers lost their jobs when the viscose plant was sold off and in May 2005, with the site employing around 475 people, Acordis went into administration.
A buyer was eventually found, but not before the workforce had been slimmed even further to about 235.
Fibres Worldwide Ltd was in charge of the plant for just 11 months, before it was also forced to call in the administrators.
Within a month, 39 jobs were lost when the speciality fibres section was closed, but just before Christmas, with the factory on the brink of closure, the China National Bluestar Group stepped in to buy the plant, which became known as Bluestar Fibres, saving about 170 jobs.
Management outlined plans for expanding the workforce, and in March 2008 a deal was announced to produce carbon fibre at the plant.
Last year, the company announced that 42 jobs would be lost as part of a restructuring, and yesterday the potential production stoppage was announced – putting 175 jobs on the line.
Former employee Mick Burnett, of Cleethorpes, has much sympathy for those facing the prospect of losing their jobs.
Mr Burnett, who is now deputy leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, worked at the viscose plant for 27 years from 1973, starting out in processing before becoming a shift manager.
He said: "This is very sad news for the whole area, especially for those who could lose their jobs and their families.
"When I was at Courtaulds it was a vibrant place to work and offered workers a good standard of living.
"But the whole fibres market has changed over the years and a large plant like this facing possible closure is a sad reflection of the times."
