As Hotpoint close the last UK washing machine factory at the end of this month... :(

"WORKER DIES ON FACTORY`S LAST DAY!!!

Employees working the last day at a washing machine factory have left early after the death of a colleague during the final shift at the plant.

Some staff at Indesit in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, said the death was the "last straw" for the 302-strong workforce, who are now redundant.

Management at the plant allowed them to leave early after the man, 44, died.

He was said to have worked there for 20 years and collapsed at around 0900 BST before being taken to hospital.

He died at Glan Clwyd Hospital.

Jason Dwan, manufacturing site director at Indesit, said: "First aiders were on scene immediately with our employee and a local ambulance arrived within 10 minutes of the call.

"Our HR manager was with the family straight away as he was accompanied to the local hospital, Glan Clwyd.

"At 0920 it was unfortunately confirmed that our employee had sadly passed away.

"His family have been informed.

"Immediately all work stopped at the factory, and our employees have now left the site as a mark of respect to his family."

Mr Dwan said it was a "tragedy" for the factory and extended his sympathies to the man's family on behalf of the company.

Indesit has been a major employer at Bodelwyddan since 1954, but production is moving abroad.

SWITCHING PRODUCTION

The company also makes the Hotpoint brand, and has blamed increased production costs and falling demand.

It said a number of options for the site were considered but all parties agreed they were not viable.

The loss of the jobs has been described as a "very sad day" for the area by those who campaigned to keep it open.

Vale of Clwyd AM Ann Jones said: "These are highly skilled manufacturing jobs and, somehow, we have to find ways of keeping these skills so they are not lost from the area."

The union expects production to be switched to Poland.

There has been a washing machine factory in the Bodelwyddan area since the early 1980s and it was taken over by Indesit in 2002.

It has made predominantly Hotpoint machines and as recently as 2004 employed 750 workers at the Kinmel Park site.

Indesit has two other bases in the UK, in Somerset and Peterborough, and claims to be the largest white goods company in the country.

Carlos Ramos, Indesit's UK Manufacturing Director said: "The work force at Kinmel Park has remained very loyal to the company and has a very positive attitude to work.

"This, combined with the wide range of skills and experience they have acquired means they have a lot to offer potential new employers."

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Post# 367570 7/27/2009 at 16:14 (5,384 days old) by seamusuk (Dover Kent UK)
Checkrate/Likes Dont you just wish you could turn the clock back 24 years..... Seamus CLICK HERE TO GO TO seamusuk's LINK

Post# 367571 , Reply# 1 7/27/2009 at 16:16 (5,384 days old) by seamusuk (Dover Kent UK)
Checkrate/Likes *OOps....* Try this one lol...... CLICK HERE TO GO TO seamusuk's LINK

Post# 367572 , Reply# 2 7/27/2009 at 16:18 (5,384 days old) by seamusuk (Dover Kent UK)
Checkrate/Likes *Ok its broken :(* Will try again tomoz - off to bed now lol! Seamus

Post# 367580 , Reply# 3 7/27/2009 at 16:47 (5,384 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)
Checkrate/Likes *Hi Seamus.* Would that be the truly wonderful advert, showing the insides of the New Generation factory, that you are trying to link to. If so, it is a truly brilliant advert, albeit a bit brief for my liking. An hour long documentary programme would have done the subject matter more justice. TV Ark is a great source of vintage adverts. Indeed the end of the month brings to a close another chapter in the UK's manufacturing base. May we maintain all our vintage Hotpoint machines as a tribute to better days gone by, in North Wales. Paul

Post# 367582 , Reply# 4 7/27/2009 at 16:51 (5,384 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)
Checkrate/Likes The 95360 - since the picture below was taken the machine now graces an original new gen dial. Still a bit of work to do, including a replacement lid and a new set of bearings. Last but not least, side strips will be reapplied...

Post# 367584 , Reply# 5 7/27/2009 at 16:54 (5,384 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)
Checkrate/Likes The 95620 - who knows, this machine could get its sidestrips back sooner rather than later. Will add a touch of white enamel to the lid aswell, then jobs a good'un...

Post# 367586 , Reply# 6 7/27/2009 at 16:55 (5,384 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)
Checkrate/Likes The 93730 - all the usual bits need reattaching. The plastic bits look good, but are a pain in the proverbial to preserve...

Post# 367588 , Reply# 7 7/27/2009 at 17:01 (5,384 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)
Checkrate/Likes *To the pinnacle of the New Generation Front Loaders....* The 95840 Microtronic De Luxe L.E! Farewell to Hotpoint production in the UK. All the best Paul

Post# 367589 , Reply# 8 7/27/2009 at 17:01 (5,384 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill Home of the RailwayTrials Merseyside,UK)
Checkrate/Likes *Hotpoint Factory - Persil Automatic* Scroll to 6th line down, RHS Persil Automatic 1985 Add - Enjoy CLICK HERE TO GO TO chestermikeuk's LINK

Post# 367633 , Reply# 11 7/27/2009 at 19:45 (5,384 days old) by norfolksouthern ()
Checkrate/Likes I just don't know what to say, chestermikeuk. I know you're in a whole different country than me, but you probably have no idea how well I understand the way you feel about this. Just to give you an idea: Flint: Buick City, Fisherbody 1, Chevrolet, Fisher Guide, AC Sparkplug, 60,000 jobs lost since 1978. GM Powertrain North will soon close, and I don't think there's much left of Delphi East. Hamtramck: Dodge Main once employed 40,000 workers in its prime, before it was torn down in 1980. Detroit: Too many auto factories to mention, 300,000 jobs lost since the early 1990s. Ypsilanti: Willow Run Assembly closed in 1991. Visteon gutted last year, with GM Powertrain soon to follow. In the United States, we once had the largest textile industry in the world. There's nothing left of it. Same with furniture. Same with small appliances. Bicycles. Toys. Electronics. Computers. Even Cessna is making some of their airplanes in China. Boeing jets: The wings of the new Dreamliner are made in China! NorfolkSouthern

Post# 368060 , Reply# 12 7/29/2009 at 09:13 (5,382 days old) by paulinroyton (B)
Checkrate/Likes *Hotpoint* Hi Mike, Just been reading through this thread and so sad about Hotpoint. I don,t think we make washers now in the UK, correct me if I am wrong. I use to love watching my mum 15690 wash, it was a fab machine. The only thing about the 15690 is it took a lot of water to wash a load. Apart from that, it was cool. Paul

Post# 368072 , Reply# 13 7/29/2009 at 10:28 (5,382 days old) by servisslimline (England, Brighton & Hove)
Checkrate/Likes *hotpoint* again here is my hotpoint 9534, goodbye to such great machines

Post# 368076 , Reply# 14 7/29/2009 at 10:31 (5,382 days old) by servisslimline (England, Brighton & Hove)
Checkrate/Likes *sorry* again

Post# 367600 , Reply# 9 7/27/2009 at 17:51 (5,384 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill Home of the RailwayTrials Merseyside,UK)
Checkrate/Likes *Hotpoint Factory* Closing down July 2009 -

Post# 367601 , Reply# 10 7/27/2009 at 17:52 (5,384 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill Home of the RailwayTrials Merseyside,UK)
Checkrate/Likes *Hotpoint Factory - Clwyd, North Wales, UK*

Post# 368338 , Reply# 15 7/30/2009 at 15:44 (5,381 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)
Checkrate/Likes *July 30th* Today saw the final shift at the North Wales factory. Some of the employees have written a song, which I have heard is being sold for charity. I assume that copies can be picked up locally in the Llandudno area. A video of stills can be viewed on youtube - see the link below. So there we go - the end! Farewell Hotpoint manufacture in the UK. Your history will live on in all our capable hands. As the tagline from their 1980s adverts says..........'Thankyou Hotpoint'. Paul CLICK HERE TO GO TO matchboxpaul's LINK

Post# 368342 , Reply# 16 7/30/2009 at 15:55 (5,381 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)
Checkrate/Likes Will have to get this machine powered up this year...

Post# 368535 , Reply# 17 7/31/2009 at 08:05 (5,380 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill Home of the RailwayTrials Merseyside,UK)
Checkrate/Likes *What an awful tragedy ...* "WORKER DIES ON FACTORY`S LAST DAY!!! Employees working the last day at a washing machine factory have left early after the death of a colleague during the final shift at the plant. Some staff at Indesit in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, said the death was the "last straw" for the 302-strong workforce, who are now redundant. Management at the plant allowed them to leave early after the man, 44, died. He was said to have worked there for 20 years and collapsed at around 0900 BST before being taken to hospital. He died at Glan Clwyd Hospital. Jason Dwan, manufacturing site director at Indesit, said: "First aiders were on scene immediately with our employee and a local ambulance arrived within 10 minutes of the call. "Our HR manager was with the family straight away as he was accompanied to the local hospital, Glan Clwyd. "At 0920 it was unfortunately confirmed that our employee had sadly passed away. "His family have been informed. "Immediately all work stopped at the factory, and our employees have now left the site as a mark of respect to his family." Mr Dwan said it was a "tragedy" for the factory and extended his sympathies to the man's family on behalf of the company. Indesit has been a major employer at Bodelwyddan since 1954, but production is moving abroad. SWITCHING PRODUCTION The company also makes the Hotpoint brand, and has blamed increased production costs and falling demand. It said a number of options for the site were considered but all parties agreed they were not viable. The loss of the jobs has been described as a "very sad day" for the area by those who campaigned to keep it open. Vale of Clwyd AM Ann Jones said: "These are highly skilled manufacturing jobs and, somehow, we have to find ways of keeping these skills so they are not lost from the area." The union expects production to be switched to Poland. There has been a washing machine factory in the Bodelwyddan area since the early 1980s and it was taken over by Indesit in 2002. It has made predominantly Hotpoint machines and as recently as 2004 employed 750 workers at the Kinmel Park site. Indesit has two other bases in the UK, in Somerset and Peterborough, and claims to be the largest white goods company in the country. Carlos Ramos, Indesit's UK Manufacturing Director said: "The work force at Kinmel Park has remained very loyal to the company and has a very positive attitude to work. "This, combined with the wide range of skills and experience they have acquired means they have a lot to offer potential new employers." CLICK HERE TO GO TO chestermikeuk's LINK

Post# 369126 , Reply# 18 8/2/2009 at 18:06 (5,378 days old) by hotpoint9534 (UK)
Checkrate/Likes What a shame, would this have happened if GE had kept hold of Hotpoint in the UK? I guess it might have by now, but perhaps less likely than under Indesit. I keep seeing the factory being referred to as the Indesit factory which just doesn't seem right to me. It'll always be the Hotpoint factory to me and probably to the workers who have been sadly made redundant by the Merloni family. Italian and Polish built Hotpoints will always be Aristons in my book, even the current Hotpoint logo was designed in Italy. Tom.

Post# 369191 , Reply# 19 8/3/2009 at 04:22 (5,377 days old) by seamusuk (Dover Kent UK)
Checkrate/Likes *Italian and Polish built Hotpoints will always be Aristons i* Hi Tom I quite agree...... Seamus

Post# 369611 , Reply# 20 8/4/2009 at 17:02 (5,376 days old) by keymatic3203 (Cardiff UK)
Checkrate/Likes *you've said it all* Paul its a promise, we'll celebrate britains hotpoint heritage at 1400rpm this autumn, I think we can agree they lived up to the promises made in the promotional information on the new generation of hotpoint machines. Better built, longer lasting and by far, easier serviceing, Thankyou Hotpoint. Mathew

Post# 370024 , Reply# 21 8/6/2009 at 12:02 (5,374 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)
Checkrate/Likes Indeedy Mathew. Have both an FHP motor, so we can check that the machine functions properly. After that, subject to getting wiring diagrams, we have an original GEC 1400rpm motor which could be installed at a later date. Paul