How jobless craftsmen pooled cash together to make brass out of glass
IT was in the summer of 1981 that four Tutbury glass workers pooled together their redundancy packets to form a new company – Georgian Crystal.
The company started life in a former silk mill and consisted of former Webb Corbett workers and a growing band of volunteers.
Royal Doulton, the parent company of Webb Corbett had decided that after more than a century of glass working in the village, there was not the demand to continue production.
Ex-workers disagreed and formed Georgian Crystal which five years later employed a staff of 20 people and had to take on extras just to deal with the paperwork for the growing export market.
Speaking in 1986, managing director Pete Shaw said: “If we are supposed to be in a recession now I do not know how Georgian will cope if it ends.”
The company did everything in house from designing and making the glass through to cutting, finishing and engraving.
Demand was so great by 1986 that the company had to grow to cope. Mr Shaw said: “Obviously we cannot go on forever without looking for new, younger employees. Soon we will have to start looking at training new people in the traditional skills of the glassmaker.”
Some of this growth came from overseas with a company in the United States placing one order for more than 3,000 glass slippers. Mr Shaw said: “I think now we are sending more than £1,000 worth of glass to America alone.
“Since just after Christmas 1985, Georgian’s workforce has been on overtime to meet the orders, And as far as we can see ahead, the prospects are looking good.
“Already nine firms have been in touch to place orders ready for Christmas 1986.”
New technology was a bonus for Georgian. In particular a furnace designed by director Ged Doggett drastically reduced the amount of fuel needed for the glass making which enabled the company to sells its glassware cheaper than its rivals.
The furnace had another advantage in that it didn’t need constant monitoring through the night. Instead, the furnace could automatically telephone a worker on-call should problems arise.
Mr Shaw was doubtful if another company existed which had such a happy relationship between management and workforce.
Speaking in 1986 he said: “Everyone is so happy and grateful to have got out of the dole queue and into work we all know again.
“There is never any question that we do not all get down to it
when necessary.” Georgian Crystal eventually closed in late 2011. The factory’s furnaces were switched off and the factory shop was closed with redundancy notices handed out in early November 2011.
Before the firm’s closure, five members of the Shaw family worked for the business — Darron, his father Peter, his uncle Chris, brother Mark, and mother Rosetta.
Darron joined the company from school and was interviewed by the Burton Mail in 1986.
At the time Darron said: “There is no formal apprenticeship in the glass industry, you learn by watching and listening to the skilled craftsmen and then trying it yourself and of course making mistakes.”
Speaking again as the firm closed in 2011, Darron explained how high costs had
crippled the business. He said: “Our gas bill has been horrendous. Where it was costing us £16,000 a year, it jumped up to nearly £30,000, so it has almost doubled.
“The acid we used to polish the glass has also tripled in price from £68 a barrel to £200 a barrel. Plus raw materials as well — lead and sand — they have increased in price.
“My father was made redundant from Royal Doulton Webb and Corbett in 1980. He was the last person to leave the factory.
“He set up Georgian Crystal in 1981 and I came here when I left school. I came through from sweeping the floor to being managing director.
“The industry itself is totally in demise. Most glasses you buy nowadays will be mass produced. They can produce thousands an hour, whereas we could make 10.”