Over the weekend of 31 May/1 June 2003 Corus opened its Trostre works to the general public in the form of ‘Open Days’ to celebrate 50 years of production at the site. Visitors were driven around the complex in a fleet of mini buses and allowed to disembark and walk through two areas of the production process. In order to conform with Health & Safety regulations suitable footwear, protective helmets and earplugs were mandatory. Among the hundreds of guests was Rodri Morgan of the Welsh Assembly.

For those who had never seen a heavy industrial plant close up, the scale of the plant and processes was mind-blowing. Among the information given was the fact that Trostre is the largest tinplate works in Europe and the third largest in the world, the two bigger plants both being located in Japan.

The guided tour through the vast buildings took about 25 minutes and afterwards visitors could visit the site’s Museum and see finished products from all period’s of the plant’s production. The Museum, set out in a thatched farmhouse, is sympathetically arranged and the Curator gave a guided tour, pointing out various items of interest. The Museum is not normally open to the public but groups can visit by prior arrangement.

Marquees were set up on a lawned area, one provided visitors with refreshments, another contained computer equipment which visitors could use. There was also a drawing competition for children which was very popular and the level of entries was extremely high.

For the younger guest there was a ‘bouncy castle’ and for those slightly older a disco stage.

Plant employees who had taken on the task of ‘guide’ were very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. A big thank you to Corus for the effort you all put in to make our visit a memorable one.

Photograph © Andy Taylor 2003

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