Factories
The first company to be featured in our Commercial Plymouth on-line exhibition is Berkertex, an organisation that opened its factory in Plymouth in the early years after the end of WWII.
Next up is a company that set up in Plymouth around the same time as Berkertex and provided employment to many during the next three decades. That company is Bush Radio, although it changed its name several times over that period. It was based in Ernesettle.
For 40 years Clarks Shoes provided employment to the people of Plymouth. When the factory was built here in Plymouth it marked a milestone for the company as it was the first time that Clarks had chosen a site that was more than 40 miles away from its headquarters in Street.
It was a sad day when the Mayflower factory finally closed in 1997 but an active retirement group still meets regularly at Crownhill Community Centre.
Today we are starting our next on-line exhibition - Commercial Plymouth
So far we have featured companies that set up in Plymouth after the war. Our next company started life in Plymouth during the reign of Queen Victoria and many of us were weaned on their signature product. That company is of course Farleys, the product is the Farleys Rusk and Ann Farley's grave can be found in the cemetery.
Our next featured company is Plymouth Breweries, formed in 1889 but taken over by Courage in 1970.
Another company that relocated to Plymouth in the early years after the war was Tecalemit. At a time when automation was still some time in the future, Tecalemit employed more than three thousand people, including their own on-site police service, fire service, medical facilities and social club. It was one of the largest employers in Plymouth, at one time second only to the dockyard, but was finally taken over in 1984 by Siebe in a hostile takeover.