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I thought that this place had been totally flattened, but I recently found out that there were some bits left so I headed on over to Leicester to have a look.
Here is some history stolen from Wikipedia
British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) Ltd. was the head office in Leicester, England of a company which for most of the 20th century was the world's largest manufacturer of footwear machinery and materials, exporting shoe machinery to more than 50 countries. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was Leicester’s biggest employer employing more than 4,500 locally and 9500 worldwide. Most of the workforce was recruited via an apprentice scheme which trained a large proportion of Leicester’s engineers. The company had "a respected reputation for technical innovation and excellence",[1] between 1898 and 1960, it developed and marketed nearly 800 new and improved shoe machines and patented more than 9,000 inventions, at one time employing 5% of the UK's patent agents.
The collapse of the company in October 2000 destroyed the pensions of the workers. Their story became "one of the most vivid examples of what can go wrong with..Private Equity" and brought "shame on Apax." The company subsequently went into administrative receivership and was the subject of a management buyout. This new company itself went into administration in September 2006.
Of what was once a huge site there is not a lot left. A new bulid housing estate occupies most of it, just this building, the boiler house and a few outer buildings survive, with some of them being used by small businesses. I am not sure about the air raid shelter.
I had been here before, during my appreticeship over twenty years ago with the company I worked for. Today it did not look like how I remembered it.
Here are some pictures
Outside
The boiler house, beyond the shuttering is the new build housing estate
Crane Bay
Reception
Factory Clock
Glazed bricks
Wages Office?
The floors were stripped bare
A view of the Wolsey Chimney
Here is some history stolen from Wikipedia
British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) Ltd. was the head office in Leicester, England of a company which for most of the 20th century was the world's largest manufacturer of footwear machinery and materials, exporting shoe machinery to more than 50 countries. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was Leicester’s biggest employer employing more than 4,500 locally and 9500 worldwide. Most of the workforce was recruited via an apprentice scheme which trained a large proportion of Leicester’s engineers. The company had "a respected reputation for technical innovation and excellence",[1] between 1898 and 1960, it developed and marketed nearly 800 new and improved shoe machines and patented more than 9,000 inventions, at one time employing 5% of the UK's patent agents.
The collapse of the company in October 2000 destroyed the pensions of the workers. Their story became "one of the most vivid examples of what can go wrong with..Private Equity" and brought "shame on Apax." The company subsequently went into administrative receivership and was the subject of a management buyout. This new company itself went into administration in September 2006.
Of what was once a huge site there is not a lot left. A new bulid housing estate occupies most of it, just this building, the boiler house and a few outer buildings survive, with some of them being used by small businesses. I am not sure about the air raid shelter.
I had been here before, during my appreticeship over twenty years ago with the company I worked for. Today it did not look like how I remembered it.
Here are some pictures
Outside
The boiler house, beyond the shuttering is the new build housing estate
Crane Bay
Reception
Factory Clock
Glazed bricks
Wages Office?
The floors were stripped bare
A view of the Wolsey Chimney
