INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION IN BRITAIN

Grey River Argus, 10 May 1948, Page 3

INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION IN BRITAIN

DEVELOPMENT OF THE EXPORT DRIVE LONDON. May 4. A new project for industrial expansion in South Wales is the development of the existing Rheola aluminium works at Neath. It is estimated that this development will cover a period of four years at a cost • of several million pounds, and that • it will establish the Rheola works i as one of the largest of its kind in ! Europe. Present output is approximately S,suo tons a year, but 40,000 ’ tons annually is the target. ; Another ambitious four-year-plan ■ projected is the 19,000.000 extension : to the National oil refinery plant at Skewen, near Swansea. Flans to extend facilities for tankers and stor- > age at Swansea docks have already i been approved. It is believed that ■ when the full scheme is in operation it will result in a three-fold increase ! in present output. > Figures given recently by Mr H. I Dawes, Regional - Controller, Board . of Trade, show that of the 296 new ; factories planned by Wales, 67 were ! completed by the end of last year; 154 were under construction and 75 ;. remain to be built. i Housed in a 65,000 sq- ft. factory • and with £250,000 worth cf machin- • ery and equipment, the Auglo-Celtic . Watcli Company at Ystradgynluis Glamorgan, is at present turning out I 5000 pocket watches each week, j With another building of 20,000 sq. , ft. being added, and with a total of £1,000,000 worth of machinery, thei ulitmate target is to produce 2,000.000 pocket and wrist watches each . year. Among recent visitors from over- . seas to the industrial Midlands have been the Chilean and Mexican Ambasadors to Britain, and the Colombian Charge d’ Affaires and Military Attache. These distinguished visitors toured several Birmingham and Coventry factories, including the Standard Motor Works where the /American market apart, the company sterling. It is expected that by midhas world orders totalling £50,000,000 summer, there will be a 50 per cent, increase in outnut. The Austin Motor Company in extending their export drive, estimate that outside the United States, overseas markets should contribute over £900.000 a month. Ameircan sales are yielding 1,000,000 dollars monthly. The General Electric Company Ltd. has secured a £300,000 contract for a radio and communication system tQ cover the new 800-mile oil pipe line linking the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. The companv’s telephone and radio factory at Coventry will carry out the bulk of the work. This elaborate • scheme will oe the first practical application on a large scale lof the high frequency development the G.E.C. sponsored during the war. It has been announced that the cycle industry centred in the Birmingham and Coventry areas is retaining only 25 per cent of its entire production for the home market. -Three Birmingham firms alone turn out 30.000 machines each week. A big machine-tool trades exhibition is to be held at Olympia, London during August and September. From the Standard Motor Company’s woks at Coventry, where the Ferguson tractor is made, the first consignment for an American order totalling £5,000,000 has been despatched. This is to be followed by weekly consignments of tractor power units, valued at £164,000. Development will necessitate doubling the pay roll to the total of about 10,000 employees. Needle Industries Ltd., at Studley near Redditch, produce 60 per cent, of all British sewing needles. Of this output, some 95 per cent: are for export. The present production rate of 27,000,000 needles a week is three times the pre-war total, but as supply still does not meet demand, another 5,000,000 a week is the aim. The Norton motor cycle factory in Birmingham has an export programme which includes orders for 4000 machines to Canada and the United States with an earning capacity of 2 000,000 dollars. From West Bromwich comes news of the production of hardened ana tempered bandsaw steel. The result of extensive laboratory research, these steels are marketed under the trade name of Trident brand. This production is new to Britain, but many consignments have already been shinned and congratulations on the product have been received from ail quarters. ■ , „ Birmingham, Britain’s second city and home of many world-famous industries, is the subject of a film just completed, with the title “Information' Please”. The film portrays the life of the people in one of Britain’s most important industrial centres and. illustr/ates the vast .output of Birmingham’s factories and workshops. To ensure authenticity, local talent was used for the cast. Worldwide distribution has been arranged.