A TOTAL of 60 jobs are under threat in Droitwich after it was announced a manufacturing plant on the town’s Berry Hill Industrial Estate would be closing.
Pipe Supports Ltd, which makes brackets and cradles that hold pipes in place, currently employs 31 production staff making the parts and has 29 other employees in a variety of roles, including administration and secretarial posts.
But on Wednesday (March 9) after posting its end of year results and following a strategic review, its parent firm Hill & Smith Holdings PLC announced it would be beginning a consultation period with the staff amidst plans to close down the Droitwich-based operation, with the potential loss of the 60 jobs.
The consultation is expected to last a month and then, if the plans for the plant remain the same, a winding down of the operation will begin in the coming months whereby the firm will complete the orders that have already been placed but not begin any new ones.
A spokesperson for Hill & Smith Holdings, which acquired Pipe Supports Ltd in 1996, cited a challenging market and the fact it had been making a loss for some time.
He told The Standard: “Hill &Smith has done all it can to move the business back into profit but the market moved against them.”
The company owns a centre of excellence in India and the pipe support production will be moved over there in a bid to reverse its fortunes.
A statement issued on behalf of Hill & Smith Holdings PLC read: “Due to continued challenging market conditions and following a strategic review we have concluded, with regret, that it is critical to simplify this part of our business and consolidate manufacturing.
“We recognise the worry and uncertainty that this will cause for our employees at Droitwich but, in view of the consultation process, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
