JELD-WEN’s Lowestoft factory closed yesterday, bringing an end to nearly 50 years of joinery production on the site.
The last pieces of machinery were removed and the final few workers left the site for the last time.
JELD-WEN announced the closure of the millwork factory last December.
The site, which had employed 194 people, had suffered from the effects of the construction downturn and had been under-utilised. The company said it needed to make savings in its manufacturing processes in order to remain competitive.
The Lowestoft site is the former Boulton & Paul factory, bought by Rugby Joinery in 1997 before its sale to JELD-WEN in 1999.
The company recently opened a new £2m millworking plant at its Melton Mowbray operation with the creation of more than 30 new jobs. The facility, adjacent to the company’s windows and stairs factory, is expected to be operating at near capacity over the next 12 months.
