Investors urged to save factory

tears shed as glencraft staff are handed redundancy notices

By Calum Ross

Published:

DISTRAUGHT: From left, William Hislop, Glencraft branch secretary of the Community union Andrew Laing and Dennis Gibson. Kevin Emslie

Liquidators appointed to shut down Glencraft have appealed to investors to come forward to “help save” the Aberdeen factory.

The call came yesterday as distraught staff broke down amid emotional scenes after redundancy notices were handed out to the factory’s 52 workers, including 31 blind and disabled people.

Glencraft had provided employment to blind and disabled people in Aberdeen for 166 years.

Its closure came after a week of legal wrangling which one worker described as “like waiting to die”.

Liquidators Tenon Recovery took the unusual step of issuing an appeal following reported interest from private firms and social enterprises – but warned that only a “major injection” of cash could save it now.

Iain Fraser – appointed joint provisional liquidator alongside Tom MacLennan of Tenon – said Glencraft would be placed into “care and maintenance” mode while the appeal was made and its assets were marketed.

He added: “We hope that private individuals, and organisations specialising in providing financial support to social enterprises, will work with us to acquire the assets of Glencraft and develop a strategy for restructuring the enterprise.

“Glencraft is highly regarded for providing high-quality employment and training for the disabled.

“We will do everything possible to encourage interested parties to help save the organisation.

“I should warn, however, that this is a challenge requiring a major injection of finance and stability of future support to save the organisation and to secure the key role it plays in our community.”

Colin Middler, 43, who is blind because of glaucoma, worked as a mattress maker for almost 27 years at Glencraft, where he met his colleague and now wife, Helen, 42, who is also registered blind.

Mr Middler, of Langdykes Drive, Aberdeen, said: “I’m just devastated. Words can’t explain how I feel. It’s just shock that it finally happened. It has been pure hell this week – just torture.”

Fighting back tears, Mrs Middler said: “I just don’t know what we are going to do.”

The factory’s closure follows almost two years of uncertainty, since Aberdeen City Council removed its £470,000 subsidy last year.

“Even though we knew it was coming it was a bit like waiting to die,” said 35-year-old worker Lisa Duncan, from Kincorth.

Andrew Laing, whose criticism of First Minister Alex Salmond when the closure was announced last Friday prompted the MSP to visit the Wellington Road site this week, was also in tears.

The Glencraft branch secretary for the Community trade union said it was a sad day.

“The workers will go home today very distraught,” he added. “All I can say is that I would plead to the business community in Aberdeen that if you get people in the door and they say they are from Glencraft, they will be hard-working and I would hope someone would give them a chance.”