|
|
|
Stanton Ironworks Demolition
|
On May 24th 2007 when Saint Gobain PAM closed their ductile spun iron pipe maunfacturing site at Stanton, Derbyshire, UK, it brought to an end 161 years of ironmaking in the area.
It still rankles badly with me the way in which this happened with Saint Gobain buying their only competitor in the UK market, Biwater Pipes in nearby Clay Cross, and subsequently announcing it's closure within a few months with the loos of all 700 jobs. This was despite it being a profitable plant.
Within the next seven years they'd also closed their Staveley plant, followed closely by the biggest Stanton and moved all production to Europe.
It's hard to believe Stanton once boasted five blast furnaces and employed around 7000 people at it's peak and now employs a small number of people at the site, mainly in it's UK Head Office buildings.
The Stanhope Plant remains intact, including all the machinery, but is only partly in use for flange mounting and pipe spraying, although the stockyard gives the impression of it being a busy place.
When the development plans for the 600 acre site are eventually, and inevitably, realised, the remaining part will also disappear.
As the melting shop gradually came down it did give the opportunity to see the inner workings at close quarters, including it's large cupola.
|
|
