The oldest parts of the factory date back to the early 1900s, but the large iron foundry is very modern. High quality metal was produced in an electric arc furnace, then formed into big steel cylinders and crafted into steel rollers. The surface of the rollers was then hardened by induction and tempered. The rollers are used in the metal industry to reduce the thickness of metal plates.
The factory was kept more or less ‘asleep’, meaning that it was temporary taken out of business with intentions to restart the works. It was pretty obvious, as during our visit all electricity was still on, the machines were still on, control lights were blinking, motion sensors were being tripped by us and the video cameras were still filming. It was a bit unnerving and quite surreal. I think I wouldn’t have been surprised to run into a worker, it was like they were on their coffee break and returning to work soon. In reality, the chances of the factory restarting are very small and the employees are living in big financial uncertainty.
