UPDATE: 5.50pm

A CHEPSTOW wind turbine factory will shut by the end of the year after its owner was unable to find a buyer.

Mabey Bridge announced in December that it would be moving all of its operations to Lydney in Gloucestershire. It is understood about 100 of 125 staff at the Newhouse renewables site completed their last shift today.

The company was unable to secure a satisfactory offer from other firms, although it is thought two came close to agreeing a deal.

Mabey Bridge’s Station Road base also lost staff earlier this year and according to a company spokesman a “handful” remain employed there. That will also be permanently closed by the end of this year. 

Staff had been working at Newhouse to complete orders taken before Mabey Bridge’s closure plans were announced. The remaining 25 workers will remain there in what a spokesman said will be “post-production” tasks before the site is sold.

The company said 330 jobs were at risk when they announced the Newhouse and Station Road sites had been earmarked for closure.

Monmouthshire council’s deputy leader Cllr Bob Greenland said: “We are really sad to see the closure confirmed. We have been aware of interest in buying the plant as a going concern for some time and had hoped that this would happen.

"Our focus now will have to be in doing whatever we can to secure futures for the talented people that will now be without a job.”

Opened by UK energy minister Charles Hendry in May 2011, the Newhouse factory could make up to 300 wind turbine towers a year.

But Mabey Bridge suffered a blow in finding a buyer in June when the UK government cut renewable energy subsidies for onshore wind farms from next April.

Thornwell councillor Armand Watts said the factory’s closure was “devastating to the community.”
Mabey Bridge said it had spoken to 50 companies, based in the UK and abroad, about the possibility of taking over the Newhouse site. 

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Today’s news is extremely disappointing. Since the decision to put the business up for sale was made by the Mabey Group, we have worked closely with the Group to secure a future for the site under new ownership.

"We have actively supported two separate bids for the business, both of which would have safeguarded employment at the site and provided a secure future for the business, but we were very disappointed that neither of these bids were acceptable to Mabey Bridge.

“Clearly, should any new offers emerge that will safeguard employment on the site, Welsh Government stands ready to provide support.

"In the meantime, our efforts will now be redirected to the staff losing their jobs and ensuring we provide all necessary practical support, advice and guidance available to them in the current situation.”

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A CHEPSTOW firm making wind turbines will be forced to close after it it failed to find a buyer.

In July this year Mabey Bridge, which helped construct the original Severn Bridge, announced it will close its Chepstow base, resulting in 125 job losses.

Despite trying to find a buyer from December last year, a spokesman for the company today revealed “no viable buyer was identified” and its site on the Newhouse Industrial Estate will close.

Over the last few weeks the company has been consulting with staff who will be affected by the closure.

Chairman of Mabey Bridge, Juliette Stacey, said: "We have explored every avenue available to us in a bid to keep the site open, but sadly it has not been possible to do so.

“I would like to thank all of our staff at Newhouse who have worked diligently to meet the commitments to the customers of the renewables division prior to its closure.

“Mabey Bridge will continue its activities from its facility and offices in Lydney, Gloucestershire, as a business that provides high quality modular bridging and infrastructure solutions in the UK and overseas.

“This is a difficult day for Mabey Bridge but we will now focus on building a stronger and more sustainable future for the business."

The Argus understands that bids fell short of what Mabey Bridge is looking to recoup for the factory and were all rejected.

And it is understood any possible jobs that would have been saved at the factory would have been a small proportion of the 150 who are employed there until later today. 

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Today’s news is extremely disappointing.

"Since the decision to put the business up for sale was made by the Mabey Group early in 2015, we have worked closely with the Group to secure a future for the site under new ownership.  

"We have actively supported two separate bids for the business, both of which would have safeguarded employment at the site and provided a secure future for the business, but we were very disappointed that neither of these bids were acceptable to Mabey Bridge.

"Clearly, should any new offers emerge that will safeguard employment on the site, Welsh Government stands ready to provide support.

"In the meantime, our efforts will now be redirected to the staff losing their jobs and ensuring we provide all necessary practical support, advice and guidance available to them in the current situation.”