Egg box factory halts production

Blue asbestos was found at the Omni-Pac factory in October 2003

An egg box factory which closed last year after the discovery of asbestos has told staff it will not reopen.

Omni-Pac in Great Yarmouth, was due to restart production in April after closing its doors on 27 October 2003.

On Tuesday a company statement said production would not resume and all avenues of keeping the business open had already been explored.

The firm, which employs 200, said the length of the clean-up operation and a loss of customers forced the decision.

Omni-Pac spokesman Peter Jermy said: "I'm very sorry to have to announce our intention to cease manufacturing at Great Yarmouth.

"We set out in October with the determination to keep the factory open and a lot of people have invested a great deal of time and commitment to try and achieve this goal.

"Unfortunately in the past week it has become apparent that the clean-up operations are more complex and will take longer to resolve than foreseen.

"At the same time a significant number of our customers have been lost."

Blue asbestos

He added that resuming production was no longer viable and was based purely on a business decision.

"The next steps are to continue negotiations with unions and staff representatives," said Mr Jermy.

Omni-Pac ran into problems when the Health and Safety Executive was alerted to a possible asbestos problem.

Inspectors found blue asbestos in lagging materials at the factory had been disturbed, making it a potential health risk.

Staff were paid some of their wages when the factory first closed but were assured they would resume work in 2004 when there would be 24-hour production.