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Brechin Matrix site owners demand inquiry over ‘disgraceful’ collapse of historic firm

The East Mill engineering factory suffered severe flooding during Storm Babet and remaining staff have now been told closure is on the cards.

Brechin businessman Kevin Mackie at the East Mill site. Image: DC Thomson
Brechin businessman Kevin Mackie at the East Mill site. Image: DC Thomson

Owners of the Matrix International factory site in Brechin are demanding a public inquiry into the full circumstances around the loss of the historic name in the 18-month wake of Storm Babet.

Last month, staff at the East Mill engineering operation were told by its US parent company the 86-year-old firm faces the axe.

It comes after dozens of posts were lost following the devastation of October 2023 when the factory was left under four feet of water.

Matric factory in Brechin.
The Matrix factory at East Mill Road in Brechin. Image: Alan Richardson

East Mill owners JJKS Estates say Matrix parent company Regal Rexnord had committed to a lease until 2038 before the flood catastrophe.

And the latest hammer blow has reignited claims Angus Council could have done more to avert the scale of the carnage Babet brought.

The council rejected suggestions it had not supported the firm since the flood.

No extra Brechin flood measures after 2021 consultants report

Last November, we revealed a specialist report commissioned by the council had warned Brechin flood scheme’s one-in-200-year protection level had halved.

Experts say the £16 million flood wall – completed in 2016 – now offers just one-in-50-year storm protection.

The council previously said the 2021 report contained no recommendations which would have coped with the unprecedented levels of Storm Babet.

However, it suggested additional bunding could be created at The Inch on the River South Esk.

River South Esk at The Inch in Brechin.
River South Esk floodwater at the Inch in Brechin. Image: Supplied

Mr Mackie said: “The report was never presented to councillors. The council did not add any bunding, or take up our offer to provide it.

“In the past 100 years the water’s never reached that site when Brechin has flooded.

“If that bunding had been in place it may have prevented it.”

He added: “JJKS took over East Mill in 2012 and all in we have invested around £3 million there on the Matrix and other units.

“But this is not about JJKS, it is about the people of Brechin, who have never had a proper voice.”

In the storm’s immediate aftermath, businesses were given lifeline funding of £3,000 and families £1,500.

Mr Mackie added: “After the floods no-one offered the factory assistance. People feared the US owners would close it, and nothing has been done.

“In total we are going to see 100 local jobs go: they will not come back to Brechin.

“This is not just disappointing, it’s a disgraceful failure of leadership,” said Mr Mackie

“The economic damage is enormous; not just in jobs lost but the long-term impact on local businesses and families.

“This level of incompetence cannot be swept under the rug.

“There must be a full public inquiry into how this was allowed to happen.”

Council response to Matrix situation

An Angus Council spokesperson said: “We have supported both JJKS and Matrix/Regal Rexnord with the repairs to the offices and workshops following the flooding and worked alongside Scottish Enterprise to support the business.

“However, a decision has been taken at a corporate level to close the facility.”

It also emphasised the 2021 study had found the flood protection scheme to be “in good condition…to protect against river flow levels as originally designed.”

The council added: “However, Storm Babet was an exceptional weather event, producing record rainfall and river flows significantly exceeding the scheme’s original design parameters.

“This context highlights the extreme nature of the storm rather than any inadequacy in the flood defences.”

 

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