Report - Ferodo/Friction Dynamex, Caernarfon November 2023

[mookster]

A revisit for me from a recent weekend away, but any excuse to shoot some big chilled industry is good. Plus my companions hadn't been here before so they got something out of it too.

The Ferodo factory in Caernarfon; Friction Dynamex; was opened by Princess Margaret in 1962. By the late 1960s it employed up to 1,100 making braking components and friction pads. The site was then bought by American Craig Smith in 1997 and renamed “Friction Dynamics”, operating with a workforce of 220 in that year. By April 2001, Union members staged industrial action against bosses in a dispute over their terms and conditions. They picketed the factory gates after they were locked out. Eight weeks later, bosses sacked the members, which sparked a three-year dispute; the longest of its kind in North Wales. A plaque was placed to commemorate this event. After losing a legal battle in 2002, Friction Dynamics called in the receivers in August 2003 and all workers were sacked. Three weeks later; Dynamex Friction was set up.

The site continued to operate until 2008 when it finally closed its doors.

One of the main reasons I actively wanted to go here again when in the area was the possibility of there being a pump house at the very far end of the site by the coast. This hunch turned out to be correct, as at the very far end of the property there is a pretty intact waterworks, with pump house, settling tanks, and a backfilled reservoir. It looks to have received minimal attention from, well, anyone really other than a determined couple of taggers so definitely made it a worthwhile excursion for me. Back up at the main factory buildings, since my previous visit in 2017 the floor inside has quite literally been swept clean with all the detritus that used to be in there seemingly piled up around back following the wholesale removal of an entire wall. There has also been the addition of three artic truck trailers between the shell of the offices and the factory. Oh, and the boiler house is still really cool and still one of the most awful asbestos-riddled hellholes I have stood in.

Starting in arguably the main attraction, the boiler house with it's piles of delicious asbestos.

Then off we wandered to the far edge to see if my hunch was right.

Bingo (excuse the slight handheld blurriness of the next shot, I was probably too excited)

Back up to the main factory buildings and a quick look around the gutted interior as we were losing the last dregs of daylight. The reflections in here are very nice.

Thanks for looking ​

 

[GRONK]

Lovely that mate, looks like a great mooch

 

[Mikeymutt]

That pump house was definitely a bonus find.

 

[HughieD]

Those factory shots with the water on the floor are epic.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Like this. Especially the warehouse/factory shots.

 

[dansgas1000]

Nicely done, I've always liked the look of this place despite the state of it. That pump house is great, I'll definitely try to get there on my next Wales trip. I'm surprised no one has came across it before.

 

[urbanchemist]

Are those motors or pumps, or both, in that pump house?

 

[mw0sec]

A few from 2018 - not much change then!

 

[mookster]

Are those motors or pumps, or both, in that pump house?

I was hoping you'd know! I'm no expert on them at all

 

[mingerocket]

I like that alot. Those pumps look unusual, never seen anything like that