Workers face dole
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Glover Site Investigations factory in Balnamore.
GLOVER Site Investigations based in Balnamore, but with workers from across the Coleraine area, have apparently shut their doors, in a shock move that has left over 50 employees staring at the possibility of joining the dole queue at the start of a new year. The firm, which has been based at the old mill in Balnamore for over 47 years now, is a ground investigation contractor offering a range of services for the civil engineering, mining, environmental and water industries and is thought to have gone into voluntary liquidation.
Despite the firm laying off over a quarter of its work force as a result of the economic downturn at the start of 2011, it simply wasn't enough to keep the company's head above water and the remaining employees returning after their annual Christmas holidays, were met with bleak news.
The Chronicle spoke with one employee, who said the news had come as a shock to them all, with no prior warning.
The source said, "Margins are tight in every industry at the minute, but we didn't have any warning at all. We were taken in on Monday and told that the company was to meet with the bank and as soon as they had any information, we would be told. We were informed there would be no more on-site work until further notice, which is very frustrating, as there is work there to be done.
“Since the redundancies last year we've all been working hard, most of us have been doing the job of two people. We have never been busier than we were in the past year. There is a lot of work there and that's the killer. Right up until Wednesday when we were made redundant, we were working on big projects and there were orders coming in."
The Chronicle believes that the company, formed in 1965, went into voluntary liquidation, but are unable to confirm such without contact from Glovers, whose phone remained unanswered all day Thursday, Friday and Monday.
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