THE last Carmichael fire engine is set to roll off the production line in Worcester. The 150- year old firm announced it is to stop making its vehicles in the city after more than half a century.

Carmichael, which supplies rescue vehicles to airports, oil refineries and fire services worldwide, says it is shifting its production line overseas due to rising costs, placing 45 shop-floor jobs at the Weir-Lane based company

in Worcester in jeopardy. The company had previously announced it was expanding nto the Far East after being brought out by the UK subsidiary of Pesaka Astana in Malaysia last November.

A Carmichael spokesman said: "Production costs in the UK mean the continued production of these vehicles here is no longer viable.

"For the last six months, since the company was rescued from insolvent liquidation, we've worked hard to bring down costs and increase productivity.

"Unfortunately, our efforts have been in vain and it now looks as though we may have no choice but to move production abroad."

About 100 people are employed at the company and it is uncertain whether any of its 40 office staff will be affected. Employees are set to be consulted over the next four weeks, when they will be given options such as voluntary redundancies.

One worker, who wished not to be named, said: "I'm very angry - it's a great British company that's been here for more than 100 years and it's been ripped from beneath us."

But the spokesman said it was hoped the firm would maintain a significant presence in the area.

"While the news may look gloomy, there's some hope for the future," he said. "We're hopeful the company can survive and, once costs have been cut to a competitive level, it can thrive."

Pesaka Astana was set up in 1992 and is a major player in the heavy duty and special-purpose vehicle sector in the Far East, supplying a range of vehicles under the Amdac name.

It's the end of an era

news that Carmichael is to cease production in Worcester will come as a shock to many, as the firm has been a household-name vehicle-maker for more than 150 years.

From its inception in 1849, producing horse-drawn vehicles, to being at the forefront of fire engine production, the prestigious firm has maintained a strong presence at the heart of manufacturing in the Faithful City.

Indeed, for decades it was at the hub of the coach-building world as it built up a national reputation for its products. The Carmichael coach-building company started off producing a wide range of horse-drawn vehicles and steadily built up its reputation throughout the Victorian era.

The firm kept abreast of technological advances in the 20th Century from its base at The Butts, Worcester, and switched to bus and coach construction, particular for major local firms of the time such as Burnhams and Owens.

The Second World War saw major changes for those on the fighting front and the workers and businesses keeping the home fires burning.

Carmichael was no exception and used its vehicle maintenance and repair expertise to help maintain the vital upkeep of ambulances and fire engines during those dark years. Immediately afterwards, the company built its first fire engine for the city brigade and in 1949 built a grand new factory on five-and-a-half acres of land at Gregory's Mill.

The move saw the firm fired up by new contracts as it constructed fleets of top-quality fire engines and crash tenders. It would mark the start of a 40-year period of huge demand for its vehicles from fire brigades and airports from Britain and overseas. However, this arm of the Carmichael operation ceased operations in 1992, with the closure of the Gregory's Mill works.

Six months later a Warwick-based group moved in and started fire engine construction from works in Weir Lane, Lower Wick, which remain the current premises. It became known as Carmichael International Ltd. It continued to supply rescue vehicles to airports, oil refineries and fire services around the world before it was acquired by AMDAC (UK) Ltd, a British subsidiary of Pesaka Astana, of Malaysia, last November. The merger paved the way to exports to more than 80 countries and it soon became a major player in the heavy-duty and special purpose vehicle sector in the Far East.