THE final curtain for Kimberly-Clark is about to fall – with the factory's equipment and machinery going up for auction.
The nappy-making factory in Barton closed in March this year with the loss of more than 500 jobs. The future of the site remains uncertain.
But now a series of auctions will see a huge holding of machinery parts, maintenance equipment and tools going under the hammer.
The company – which employed hundreds of staff from northern Lincolnshire – has instructed Scunthorpe-based industrial auctioneers CJM Asset Management to sell off machinery spares, stores and equipment that are now surplus to requirements.
The first auction, an online sale extending to more than 700 lots, is scheduled to close on Tuesday. A further two auctions are set to take place next month.
A spokeswoman for Kimberly-Clark said the closure was taken for commercial reasons that could not have been avoided.
"These decisions are not taken lightly and it is with great regret that we closed the Barton factory as part of our European operations," she said.
She would not be drawn on any future plans for the site.
CJM director Paul Cooper said there would be a variety of equipment for sale at the auction.
He said: "The manufacturing lines are being removed and relocated to other factories around the world but that still left a vast amount of high value equipment in the stores and on the site.
"When you are operating a 24-hour manufacturing process, which the factory did, you've got to carry the parts and spares to sort any problem that arises at any time – and we've got at least one of everything from bearings, motors and gearboxes down to shafts, nuts and bolts.
"We have also been sent tools of every size and shape imaginable, maintenance equipment and other kit. For example, we have a scaffold tower that is still in its crate."
View the catalogue for Tuesday's auction at www.cjmasset.com
The sale, using BidSpotter, is scheduled to close at noon.
