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The truths they don't want you to read....

Friday, November 28, 2008

Lighthouse Caledonia - the post-mortem

Lighthouse CaledoniaThe sad closure of the Lighthouse Caledonia salmon processing factory comes as no surprise to anyone who has been looking at the problem objectively. With two exceptions.

The real story has eventually come out, as I knew it would, and I have been sitting on some papers that put the lie to the public story. I didn't want to release them until now, in case I was blamed for the company pulling out by those who sought to throw accuse others.

The original story – remember that? – was that the factory needed a major upgrade to meet health & hygiene requirements to the customers satisfaction, and that major investment was (unexpectedly) required to fund this, but that Marybank was not (now) a suitable site for this to happen on.

That had the stink of unmitigated bollocks; but it hooked the naive who didn't question management or the rational of the supposed 'problem', and went off on a wild goose chase, raising expectations of public money, new factories and a 'rescue'

The internal papers I found all showed that hygiene was not an issue at the Lewis factory, indeed the talk was all about the success of the factory. Some of the other recent finance papers are here and here, and tell the same tale.

Now, the reason for closure is supposedly that the company needed to make cuts to generate cash, save money and meet its banking covenants. The need to urgently generate £12m in cash is supposedly the driver for the closure, but how closing a profitable factory will generate that amount of cash in a few months is unclear, especially since the factory does not appear to be for sale.

They are still peddling misinformation.

The whole philosophy has been to cut costs by centralising the value added packing of the salmon in Argyll. We are left with the low value jobs and Jim Mather MSP gets the high-value jobs in his constituency.

Does this explain why Enterprise Minister Jim Mather has been conspicuous by his absence? And why our MP and MSP have had no substantive response to the letters they claim to have written?

It has been said before on this blog by others, and I will say it again, it looks like MacNeil and Allan were told by Jim Mather that they factory wouldn't be saved, so not to bother rocking the boat too much.

The prospect of new tenants for Marybank or a new factory in Arnish (to compete with Scalpay??) is as implausible as it is impractical, and what we have seen is another key industry sector pulled from under us.

All of which takes me to my next post.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Got any good Hebridean news? :-(

Anonymous said...

There is a faint echo of the schools debacle about this as well, with the relevant politicians solely gunning for their own backyard.

Anonymous said...

Will suit the zenophobics in the community more forgeiners going home and a reduction in the RC flock

Anonymous said...

Got any good Hebridean news?

Yes,Glenmorangie is going for around
eighteen quid in the new supermarket.

Anonymous said...

Any good news?

Yes, MacNeil and Allan are shortly going to be replaced be someone who gives a shit.

Anonymous said...

5:26 you are sad, very very sad if these thoughts are in your head- you realy need help

Anonymous said...

Lets look at the island economy objectivly.

HIE are shite, CNES are shite. MSP and MP shite. Full stop.

They have tried to push lame ducks (Arnish), cant even have a clean vote (schools), cant find a suitable bedfellow (MP/MSP). What hope?

Sack the lot and start afresh. We need a new vision rather than the same old nepotistic, inbreed bollocks, ridden on by the Gaeldom gravy trainers.

Anonymous said...

A company run by a management team rotten from top to bottom with corruption,'jobs for our mates' mentality and incompetence beyond belief. The sooner they go down the pan and leave the Island the better. Have you ever seen them actually advertise a job for a management position ?

Anonymous said...

Don't blame HIE or the council. It would have been a staggering waste of money to give Lighthouse one penny. A factory needs fish - and I can assure you their marine sites are a badly run shambles with no hope of improvement. Many of the good competent staff have gone ,most of the good ones that are left are desperate to go and will at the first opportunity, to be replaced by people with no experience. The potential situation that will arise is frightening. This company is not going to survive, and the sooner it goes the better for the marine ecosystem of the islands and for the staff, who will have the hope of being taken over by a competent organisation offering decent employment. The contrast at Marine Harvest speaks volumes - excellent efficient sites staffed with long term skilled and experienced employees happy in their work and working for a well run company offering excellent employment conditions. Ask any outside contractor working on Island sites about the difference of quality of operations between the two big companies - see what they say to you. That's why MH aren't 15 million in debt. And incase we get any romantic notions about the old Fjord Seafoods - they were little better than Lighthouse with a huge turnover of unhappy ill treated staff and disaster upon disaster at the sites, in many cases covered up. That's the truth and the reality. Well treated and respected employees with honest management teams make for well run and successful companies. Marine Harvest had the vision to see that a long time ago - and that is why they will prosper while Lighthouse will become a bad memory.

Anonymous said...

What is the percentage breakdown of UK citizens and east Europeans we are talking about?

Anonymous said...

So if they're not going to bail out one crap company it is certain to be another. Lets hear it for Arnish ! Having painted the council skips at our expense, what will be next?

Anonymous said...

Anybody home?

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:43pm

I'm trying to work out if you are talking about Lighthouse Caledonia, Comhairle, HIE or the Health Board. The description seems to fit all of the above.

Anonymous said...

I hear that our illustrious MSP was marked as absent at the important meeting between the company and it's representatives and interested parties.

Apparently he was in Nova Scotia according to ABM. Nice work if you can get it.

At least he won't have to worry about where his next meal is coming from or how to pay his fuel bill when he gets knocked out of the Parliament.

Anonymous said...

Shares suspended today (16/12) - like I told you in my previous blog it's over for these jokers.......