Jeld Wen - The company
Jeld Wen is an American company dating back to just before 1960 with the founder Richard Wendt. Richard "Dick" Wendt had learned to manage a manufacturing business from his father, an executive of Caradco, who sent him to Oregon to help run their millwork plant (Millwork being a building material traditionally produced at a wood mill such as doors or windows).
A few years down the line the Caradco company decided to sell the Oregon plant and Dick Wendt along with 4 of his business partners decided to purchase the factory and assets starting as their own business named Jeld-Wen. The factory's workforce was at 15 employees but within a couple years the plant was eventually able to afford new manufacturing facilities offering a wider range of material choices such as vinyl and metals like aluminium. The resourcefulness and reliably to make a quality product allowed Jeld Wen to grow rapidly in the 70's and 80's using a method known as vertical integration allowed them to purchase suppliers allowing costs to be lowered and ultimately increasing their profit to reach heights of $350 Million profit by 1989.
The 1990s saw the company expand across the globe reaching the UK. The Lowestoft plant, covering around 14 Hectares (Roughly 34 Acres) of land right next to the port, was taken over from the Rugby Joinery around 1993 and into the control of Jeld-Wen.
The Lowestoft plant continued operation way into the 2000s Until news in early December 2009 soon saw the demise of the plant. A recent drop in the construction industry meant that the company had to cut costs to save money and shortly after the news was announced the plant would close after Christmas leaving the plant disused and the 194 workforce redundant.
Since closure the plant has stood mostly dormant, a small business operates out of one of the former sheds but apart from that the only life on site is security.
There have been several plans for the site and as of recent a project to place 800 homes (no surprise there) on the site seems the most likely fate.
The Visit
The former joinery has been closed for over a decade now which meant the chance of much remaining inside slim.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see the work still existed as the last I had seen of it was way back from 2015, when the world was still normal. The key area of interested was the chaos of pipework near the main workshop connecting boilers, silos and exhaust systems to the whole plant. Once over the fence a walk through a mix of open areas and sheds began, easy pickings for a patrolling security team. Eventually we could relax a little hidden under the maze of pipe work. Attempts to get into the main workshops were not only hopeless but useless as a glance from a gantry through a high window revealed nothing layed within.
The other main area of interest here was the wood drying ovens (?), but at the time of the visit we didn't know what to expect.
I'll start with a series externals, compiled of rushed phone shots and camera snaps.
I'll start off with the pipes.
Secca, lurking in the distance.....
And the Ovens.
The main workshop, albeit more of an external.
Whilst wandering round the maze of pipes I found myself in a small area full of ventilation equipment and boilers.
Anyway. That'll be all folks!
Jeld Wen is an American company dating back to just before 1960 with the founder Richard Wendt. Richard "Dick" Wendt had learned to manage a manufacturing business from his father, an executive of Caradco, who sent him to Oregon to help run their millwork plant (Millwork being a building material traditionally produced at a wood mill such as doors or windows).
A few years down the line the Caradco company decided to sell the Oregon plant and Dick Wendt along with 4 of his business partners decided to purchase the factory and assets starting as their own business named Jeld-Wen. The factory's workforce was at 15 employees but within a couple years the plant was eventually able to afford new manufacturing facilities offering a wider range of material choices such as vinyl and metals like aluminium. The resourcefulness and reliably to make a quality product allowed Jeld Wen to grow rapidly in the 70's and 80's using a method known as vertical integration allowed them to purchase suppliers allowing costs to be lowered and ultimately increasing their profit to reach heights of $350 Million profit by 1989.
The 1990s saw the company expand across the globe reaching the UK. The Lowestoft plant, covering around 14 Hectares (Roughly 34 Acres) of land right next to the port, was taken over from the Rugby Joinery around 1993 and into the control of Jeld-Wen.
The Lowestoft plant continued operation way into the 2000s Until news in early December 2009 soon saw the demise of the plant. A recent drop in the construction industry meant that the company had to cut costs to save money and shortly after the news was announced the plant would close after Christmas leaving the plant disused and the 194 workforce redundant.
Since closure the plant has stood mostly dormant, a small business operates out of one of the former sheds but apart from that the only life on site is security.
There have been several plans for the site and as of recent a project to place 800 homes (no surprise there) on the site seems the most likely fate.
The Visit
The former joinery has been closed for over a decade now which meant the chance of much remaining inside slim.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see the work still existed as the last I had seen of it was way back from 2015, when the world was still normal. The key area of interested was the chaos of pipework near the main workshop connecting boilers, silos and exhaust systems to the whole plant. Once over the fence a walk through a mix of open areas and sheds began, easy pickings for a patrolling security team. Eventually we could relax a little hidden under the maze of pipe work. Attempts to get into the main workshops were not only hopeless but useless as a glance from a gantry through a high window revealed nothing layed within.
The other main area of interest here was the wood drying ovens (?), but at the time of the visit we didn't know what to expect.
I'll start with a series externals, compiled of rushed phone shots and camera snaps.
I'll start off with the pipes.
Secca, lurking in the distance.....
And the Ovens.
The main workshop, albeit more of an external.
Whilst wandering round the maze of pipes I found myself in a small area full of ventilation equipment and boilers.
Anyway. That'll be all folks!
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