Greenock: Encyclopedia II - Greenock - Employment

Greenock - Employment

Historically, the town relied on shipbuilding, sugar refining and wool manufacturing for employment. Today electronics manufacture, the call centre business and shipping export are the most significant industries in Greenock.

Greenock - Shipbuilding

In the early 17th Century, the first pier was built in Greenock. Shipbuilding was already an important employer by this time. The first proper harbour was constructed in 1710 and the first well-known shipbuilders Scott's was established the following year. It was the oldest shipbuilding business in the world and gained numerous contracts with the Royal Navy from 1806 building ships such as the Prince of Wales.

Scott's was nationalised in 1969 and merged with Lithgow's (founded 1874, later the largest privately owned yard in the world) the same year becoming Scott Lithgow. Other yards included Cartsburn, Cartsdyke, and Klondyke - all of which closed during the 1970s and 1980s due to post-war competition from South Korea and Japan.

The former site of the Scott's yard is now occupied by a T-Mobile call centre.

Greenock - Sugar

John Walker began one of the earliest sugar refineries in Greenock in 1850 followed by Abram Lyle in 1865. Another 12 refineries were active at one point. The most famous of these (and successful in terms of being the only survivor until August 1997) was Tate & Lyle. It was formed from a merger in 1921 between Abram Lyle, who had expanded into Plaistow, and Henry Tate, who had set up a sugar refinery in Liverpool and had also expanded into London.

By the end of the 19th century, around 400 ships a year were transporting sugar from Caribbean holdings to Greenock for processing in the 14 sugar refineries. Tobacco from the Americas also arrived here.

When Tate and Lyle finally closed its Greenock refinery in 1997 it brought to an end the town's 150-year old connections with sugar manufacture.

Greenock - Electronics

Since IBM arrived in the town in 1951, electronics and light manufacturing have, until recently, been the mainstay of local employment. National Semiconductor has also run a silicon wafer manufacturing plant in the town since 1970.

However, with manufacturing moving to Eastern Europe and Asia, work has shifted to the service sector, especially call centres. T-Mobile and IBM both have major call centre operations in Greenock, while the Royal Bank of Scotland has a facility dealing with all the groups' UK mortgage calls.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Employment", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki