A short history of Severnbank works...

Planet Industrials may not be a house hold name in the UK, but it's works at Severnbank had a long history and plenty of modelling potential due to the long lived internal railway system...

Before the outbreak of the first World War much of Britain’s zinc originated in Australia but had been smelted in Germany, which with escalating tension across Europe, was deemed to be a strategic risk. The Ministry of Munitions nationalised many small smelting works across the UK under a new National Smelting Company (NSC). The NSC was hence publicly commissioned to build a new zinc smelting works and associated sulphuric acid plant at Severnbank, Wyemouth Docks.

After the first World War demand for zinc and sulphuric acid fell greatly and after running into commercial difficulties NSC was privatised and the factory at Severnbank taken over by a group of British industrialists with interests in metals and chemicals. They succeeded in reviving it’s business under the name Commonwealth Smelting Company. In 1926 the firm was merged with Industrial Chemicals Ltd., forming Commonwealth Industrial Chemicals (CIC) and expanded production throughout the 1930s.  Alongside its main metallurgical interests, it developed business in various chemicals to using the excess sulphuric acid produced from zinc smelting.

During the Second World War the site at Severnbank suffered substantial damage from bombing, seen as a key target by the Nazis. In the period immediately after the war, a period of consolidation saw many of the smaller loss making plants across the UK closed down, concentrating production on Wyemouth. 

CIC, having failed to develop new business looked to divest it’s chemical refineries and smelting operations. In 1962 Planet Industrials took control of the business forming PiChem investing heavily in Severnbank which saw something of a resurgence in fine chemical production and powdered ‘salts’ for use in manufacturing of detergents. However, with increased environmental lobbying in the UK production at Severnbank ceased in September 1992 and manufacture was moved overseas, although the site remained open as a stock-holding and distribution centre for PiChem until 2003.

In 2012 Sita started redevelopment of the Severnbank works. In the summer of 2013 workers found a large unexploded shell, which was disposed of by the 33 Engineers and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment. In late 2013 MoD clearance was given allowing the site to be redeveloped as a 485,000 square feet (45,100 m2) supermarket distribution centre for Alda, and a small recycling and electricity plant for Sita.

Of course, this is a pure work of fiction... any parallels to real life are purely incidental. I find this sort of detailed background history can give your models a real sense of purpose, and this back story sits behind some of my own Pi themed models, including the PiChem wagons and Pi liveried Sentinel. I plan to work this further, to envelope the Corkickle brake scheme. I also have a few ideas around a harbourside factory that would fit well with this back story. For now, if it's inspired you, feel free to adopt it, alter it or write your own. I'd love to hear how you get on! Until next time, more soon...