Newark's Bearings Factory Shuts Down After 125 Years

On April 8, a historic bearings factory in Newark, England that kicked off in 1900, faces shut down after 125 years.

Japanese owner, NSK Littit, just announced plans to stop production at the massive site on Northern Road, ending an era for this precision manufacturing.

Giant? From wooden goods to groundbreaking bearings invented by employee Henry Marles in 1906, the place boomed during World War I cranking out.

Over 50,000 units a month by 1917. World War II hit hard with a Luftwaffe bombing on March 7, 1941, killing 41 and injuring 165, but it.

Bounce back in just three weeks, supplying parts for spitfires, landcasters, and later concord and minikars.

Folks in Newark see it as an industrial cathedral, shaping generations with apprenticeships turning kids into master engineers.

It built tight communities through social clubs, sports teams, and the famous ransom brass band that lit up BVC radio over 500 times right from the factory canteen.

At its peak, more than 5,000 workers biked in daily, dominating the town.

Mergers in the 60s and NSK's buyout in 1983 kept it going, but global competition and tech shifts shrank it to 400, employees making half a million bearings yearly by now.

This closure stings deep, stripping away Newark's industrial soul and the pride of families like those with three generations on the floor.

It's the buy. Final echo of a heyday that defines lives and legacies.