After 104 years of trading, a well-known city business on the outskirts of Derby has announced that it will be closing. Vehicle recyclers Albert Looms Ltd in Megaloughton Lane in Spondon, which has been serving generations of the public by scrapping cars and recycling parts, has "decided to call it a day".
The decision has led to hundreds of people commenting on the company's Facebook site - many reminiscing about the times spent there over many years buying parts or taking their cars to the scrapyard.
The company was first established in 1920 by Mr. Albert Looms, as a railway and coach recycler. The company is still family owned having been handed down through the generations. It recycles almost 6,000 vehicles a year and collects vehicles daily throughout the East Midlands area, including Derby, Nottingham and Burton.
It is situated on a seven-acre site, which has always been stocked with about 800 vehicles at any one time for dismantling.
But now the company's directors have made the decision to close the business, according to the message issued by them on social media. The message has been posted by operations manager Ray Kirk, who says that, although it saddens him, he has had a difficult 12 months of cancer treatment, so he also feel it’s time to go, and backs the directors' decision.
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Mr Kirk, who has been with the business for 55 years, said it was a very emotional time for everyone involved in the business but as a boy the site had been his playground when his dad had been yard foreman there, before he himself took on the same job before taking on his current role. His family moved onto the site in 1969 and his mum was the last to live there until she died.
He said: "There are very many reasons why now is the right time, including the ones already mentioned and stated on social media. But rising costs and people being less inclined to mend their cars themselves like they did years ago, have all combined.
"We don't have a final closure date settled yet but it is likely to be in August or September. The site will be cleared and the directors have decided that it will be put on the market.
"I feel like I am running on adrenaline at the moment. Since people started to hear the news, the phone hasn't stopped ringing and people have been calling in to express their thoughts and tell us their memories.
"It was not a decision that was reached easily but after my encounter with cancer from which I am now free and have had my last treatment, you do look at things differently. My wife and I have never taken holidays, so it would be nice to do that and go and see the sea. Can't remember the last time we did."
People's reactions to the announcement on social media have been "overwhelming" according to Mr Kirk, with many of them remembering visiting the yard with parents and grandparents.
One person said: "Sad news and a dark day for Derby. No more trying to peek over the fence from the car as you join the A52 into town from Spondon, to see if there’s anything new in. No more fabulous hours spent on a Saturday morning trying to wrestle an exhaust off a car held up by…..another exhaust. Generations scoured the cars for parts to keep our wrecks on the road and not forgetting the time when you could rent a ramp for an hour or whatever it was."
Another comment said: "It's the best place in Derby by a country mile, sad to see the end of an era. Love Looms's it's been such a big part of my motoring life. Health and happiness come first, so good luck to you all."
Someone said they still have a screwdriver picked up from the floor as a child, nearly 30 years ago and added: "Ended up going to Looms’ for nearly all the cars I’ve owned and continue to for my current car. Really sad news but family and health come first."
Reminiscing another person wrote: "Thank you for your dedication over the years, I have many happy memories going there with various family members, getting parts and repairing countless numbers of vehicles over that time and saving lots of money along the way. You have been a local landmark and Derby and its car owners and enthusiasts will be the poorer for the closure."
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