UPDATE:
The closure announcement of Fenwick Blacksmiths is a further blow to the City.
Fenwicks, a leading Dundee blacksmiths, has gone into provisional liquidation with the loss of 14 jobs.
Fenwick Blacksmiths was founded in 1904 and had an annual turnover of about £800,000, but was hit hard when fellow city firm and key customer Muirfield Contracts went into administration.
The business was closed on 1 April 2015, with all 14 staff let go. The firm\'s assets, including property, vehicles and machinery, will now be sold off.
Liquidator Tom MacLennan, of FRP Advisory, said: \"Fenwick Blacksmiths was a highly regarded specialist blacksmith business with a good customer base. The administration of Muirfield Contracts meant that the company was unable to continue trading.
THE CHAMBER WILL BE WORKING WITH DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL & BUSINESS GATEWAY TO DELIVER A \'SURVIVE & THRIVE\' EVENT AIMED AT SUPPLIERS AND BUSINESSES IN OUR REGION WHO MAY BE FEELING THE EFFECTS OF THE MUIRFIELD CLOSURE, OR WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT WHAT SPECIALIST SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE TO BUSINESSES IN OUR AREA. WE WILL ALSO AIM TO HIGHLIGHT UPCOMING CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES IN SOME OF THE INVESTMENT PROJECTS CURRENTLY HAPPENING OR BEING PLANNED FOR DUNDEE & ANGUS - MORE INFORMATION WILL FOLLOW IN DUE COURSE.
20 April 2015
We are saddened to hear of the news regarding Muirfield Contracts. At a PACE event this week, we led the gathering of many of our member firms who were able to offer real vacancies across a number of trades, and projects - and this has been welcomed as a positive step by many of the people affected by the demise of Muirfield.
This support is further evidence of the true partnership working which is a core part of the local business & public sector community in Dundee & Angus and beyond.
Update to news item re PACE event:
PACE event held Tuesday 17 March 2015 “The Space” Building, Dundee College, Kingsway Campus, Old Glamis Road, Dundee, DD3 8LE
Local support is being mobilised for the staff & workforce affected by Muirfield Contracts closure, and part of that was the organisation by agencies of an event to provide initial information and support about next steps.
We were at the event to gather support & roles from our members, and were absolutely overwhelmed by the response, in what was an extremely short period of time.
We have offered our support to signpost local firms that may be in a position to be taking on people with similar skills or might have opportunities in the short & medium term.
Companies are still able to send us information to pass on on their behalf - we will post vacancies on our own website, and will pass details on to JobCentrePlus who have any of the workforce registered on their database.
If there are any local companies who are in a position to offer new roles for any of the large number of skilled and quality workers coming out of Muirfield, please contact us on 01382 228545, or email alisonhenderson@dundeeandanguschamber.co.uk
As a local, tight knit business community, anything we can do to work together to offer support, is a positive step in what is an incredibly difficult situation.
Joint administrators Derek Forsyth and David Hunter of Campbell Dallas have been appointed.
The are quoted in The Courier as saying the business had collapsed after suffering “unsustainable cash flow problems.”
The company employs approximately 280 staff directly, along with a further 110 labour-only sub-contractors.
We will be working with the PACE & other teams who will in due course be supporting the workforce, and with the Council to put on an event for local businesses who supply to Muirfield, in order to achieve positive outcomes for everyone concerned.
We have spoken to local & national agencies, to ensure as much as possible is done to support the business and the many skilled workers who are currently unsure of their futures.
Muirfield has been working locally on many great projects and we know that there will be a rallying round of the local community.
We are committed to doing as much as we can to influence a positive outcome for a respected DACC member firm, for the workforce and local suppliers who may also be affected.
We are keen to offer any support we can where useful: in gathering potential new roles for workforce, seeking alternative local businesses to maintain projects (if appropriate) and generally doing what we can to ensure positive outcomes for all concerned.
If anyone would like to be involved, offer support or has anything that we can feed in on their behalf, please contact us on 01382 228545.
Alison Henderson
alisonhenderson@dundeeandanguschamber.co.uk
Chief Executive Officer
on behalf of the Board and team at
Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce
