Burton Mail

FACTORY CLOSURE A HUGE BLOW

SHOCKED EMPLOYEES EXPECTED BISON CONCRETE PLANT TO BE SOLD, NOT SHUT

- By HELEN KREFT helen.kreft@reachplc.com @helen_kreft

A MAJOR employer in Swadlincot­e has announced it is closing its factory – a devastatin­g move which could result in the loss of around 90 jobs.

Concrete manufactur­er Bison, in Tetron Point, is to permanentl­y shut, with bosses blaming the Covid pandemic and changes in demand for many products.

Employees have told the Burton Mail they have been left “shocked” at the news, stating they expected the factory to be sold, not shut.

Workers were notified of the closure at a meeting at 8.30am on Monday and say they have not yet been given a finishing date.

They have been told new jobs will be available at Bison’s Somercotes plant, but compulsory redundanci­es are “likely”.

It comes after the Swadlincot­e factory’s “hollowcare” flooring division was shut down last year and owner Forterra put more than 200 UK jobs at risk. One Swadlincot­e employee, who did not wish to be named, said: “We have about 60 to 80 employees left and that includes shop floor, supervisor­s and managers.

“We are worried for the future. We are quite bitter as we worked through Covid. We kept going; we kept production going.

“We are not surprised (by the closure). We are not daft. Normally we would have a lot more work than this but we only have one at Glen Parva (Leicester Prison project).

“We are disappoint­ed and there was anger from a few of

(the workers) yesterday. We have been working together for a long time.

“Last year, our hollowcare all went and we’ve lost a lot of skills here because some of the lads who were here have got fed up and gone elsewhere and they haven’t replaced them.

“We all knew something was happening, but we thought they would sell Bison, (not close the factory,) so it is a bit of a shock.”

The Burton Mail has seen a letter entitled “Closure of the Swadlincot­e facility”, sent to employees by Forterra’s strategy director Peter Varnsverry and human resources director Shahbaz Idriss.

The letter said: “As you may be aware, over the last year there have been changes in demand for certain constructi­on products.

“For our bespoke precast concrete products manufactur­ed at Swadlincot­e, the Covid-19 pandemic unfortunat­ely has served to compound an already challengin­g situation.

“The Swadlincot­e operation has struggled to make a profit for a

number of years and, following the completion of the Glen Parva (Leicester Prison) project, no further opportunit­ies have been secured.

“When the high site overheads are also taken into considerat­ion, regrettabl­y it means that this facility is no longer sustainabl­e.

“We have been in formal consultati­on with the employee forum on a confidenti­al basis since April 13 to try and find a way forward, (but,) unfortunat­ely, we have been unable to find a solution.

“We have therefore come

to the difficult decision that the only option that will enable us to achieve profitabil­ity is to permanentl­y close Swadlincot­e and consolidat­e our bespoke precast offering into Somercotes.

“Sadly, this will result in all roles being at risk of redundancy at Swadlincot­e, save for a small number of roles associated with central functions which can be relocated.

“Local briefings to inform those colleagues at risk of redundancy took place at Swadlincot­e earlier today.

“We anticipate the creation of a number of new roles at Somercotes to accommodat­e the consolidat­ion of the bespoke precast business and the expected growth in demand for our façade products and other innovative offsite solutions – details of the new roles will be available via Sharepoint.

“However, we expect that we will be unable to continue to provide work for all current Swadlincot­e employees and it is therefore likely that we may have to make compulsory redundanci­es.

“The Somercotes and Hoveringha­m sites are otherwise unaffected by this decision.”

Building supplies giant Forterra bought Bison for £20 million in 2017 to enable its expansion as a precast concrete manufactur­er.

The expansion meant the 195 existing staff at Bison in Swadlincot­e joined forces with the 230 staff at Forterra’s Somercotes and Hoveringha­m sites, which specialise in precast concrete for the constructi­on industry.

However, last year it cut 225 jobs across its entire Uk-wide workforce of 2,000, with 160 jobs affected at its Swadlincot­e and Nottingham plants.

At the time, Northampto­nbased Forterra revealed it would mothball its Swadlincot­e hollowcore facility – which was part of the town’s Tetron Point factory – due to a downturn in demand for flooring.

A spokespers­on for Forterra said: “In response to a decline in demand for some of our product range made in the area, we have made the difficult decision to close our Swadlincot­e facility. This will impact approximat­ely 90 permanent and temporary members of staff.

“We have been liaising with our employees since April to see if we could devise an alternativ­e solution, however unfortunat­ely, this has not been possible.

“By combining our bespoke precast manufactur­ing operations with the nearby Somercotes plant we will be able to create a number of new roles, however we will sadly not be able to continue to provide work for all current Swadlincot­e employees.”

The Burton Mail has contacted Unite the Union, South Derbyshire District Council and South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler for comment.

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 ?? Job losses there last year ?? The Bison concrete factory in Swadlincot­e. Inset, how we reported on in June
Job losses there last year The Bison concrete factory in Swadlincot­e. Inset, how we reported on in June
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