Sam Russell Fabricates the Truth

So another Simclar factory closes its doors with the loss of 420 jobs. Simclar International CEO Sam Russell, issues a press release claiming “Simclar (Ayrshire) has experienced challenging business conditions in the last two years as a result of severe drops in demand for its products following the loss of a number of key customer contracts”
His actions even draw sympathy from Alf Young writing in the Business section of The Herald http://www.theherald.co.uk/business/comment/display.var.1177201.0.0.php
So that’s that then, the good people open their morning papers and shake their heads at another unavoidable nail in the coffin for the Scotland manufacturing industry. Sam Russell MBE, business entrepreneur of the year 2001 walks away, his public persona in tact, the smoke and mirrors elusion complete.

This is the facade that Russell would have us all believe. What the 8th richest man in Scotland fails to mention is in the last two years Simclar (Ayrshire) Ltd turned a profit of £4.7m. The “severe drops in demand for its products following the loss of a number of key customer contracts” quote couldn’t be further from the truth. Simclar (Ayrshire) had a full order book for the next 9 months with her existing customers such a NCR & Motorola quoting for new business. We had just won a major order to supply 150 sheet metal parts to Alcatel-Lucent, a major supplier to the telecommunications industry for the global market. Alcatel-Lucent achieved combined sales of Euro 18.6 billion in 2005.

Does this really sound to you like a company facing “experienced challenging business conditions”? No, Sam Russell’s ploy was simple. Transfers all Simclar (Ayrshire) assets over to Simclar International i.e. property, machinery, material & stock then transfers all the existing and future contracts, then call in the administrators. Jobs a good un. Sam walks away with all the Scottish Executive grants tightly tucked away in the back pocket of his neatly tailored suit leaving you the British taxpayer to foot the bill for minimum statutory redundancy payment.

Let’s make no mistake here; Sammy boy’s no local hero. This is a man who doesn’t even trust his own wife Christina enough to hold more than a 5% stake in a company she helped create. Sam Russell has exploited every corporate legal loop hole known to man with scant disregard for human emotions to pursue his own personal pursuit of greed.

Having worked for Simclar (Ayrshire) for the last 17 years I’ve experiencing first hand the social train wreck this guy has left behind in North Ayrshire. Our longest serving workmate had 28 years service under his belt. As Russell’s long-term goal of becoming a $500m turnover company by 2007 looks imminent, ex workmates and I are facing the prospect of going cap in hand to the DSS for Crisis Loans. I know that our factory sit-ins & picket line protests will probably amount to f**k all but who knows perhaps the DTI will bring this asset stripping pariah to task before he gets the chance to pull the same ‘cut n run’ hatchet job with the 300 workers currently still employed at Dunfermline.

I would like to finish this blog by thanking all the working class comrades who turned up at all hours of the day and night in sub-zero temperatures to pledge their Solidarity & stand in front of over zealous police officers to block wagons leaving Riverside. You know who you are. How come we managed to get through so many padlocks, chains & Superglue?

I will leave you with Sam Russell’s legacy so far,

Sam closes FCI Gourock with the loss of 500 jobs in 2003
Sam closes Simclar (Dundee) Ltd with the loss of 50 jobs in 2005
Sam closes UPMex a Preston based company with the loss of 150 jobs in 2005 (now, Simclar Seating Technologies)
Sam closes Simclar (Ayrshire) with the loss of 420 jobs in 2007

Simclar Dunfermline, to be continued…….

Take care,
Jack