There can be hardly be a man or women in Britain today who is unaware of the ups and downs of Scotland's Upper Cycle ship builders. Daily, through the media of Press, radio and television, the sage continues. But meanwhile, only a few miles away, the bustling and expanding yards of the Lower Clyde are successfully building giant ships..The area's most obvious success symbol is the huge straddle crane under construction at Lower Clyde's Scott Lithgow yard. Its twin 200 - foot towers amply demonstrate the strength and confidence of Scotland's "quiet
shipbuilders. Its 225-ton lifting capacity will,in time enable Lower Clyde to build shops of up to a million tons - eight times the size of the QE2. At Greenock and Port Glasgow, a thousand jobs - and a welcome to skilled UCS workers - are offered as part of the overall expansion plan. Today, two giant tankers are being built by Scott Lithgow for Korea orders won almost in the shadow of the Japanese yards' cranes! More and more apprentice ship-builders are being taken on. Each year, the Scott Lithgow Training Centre has an intake of 400 boys - most of the area's school-leavers. Why, you may ask, all this success - when just up-river there seems to be nothing but trouble? The answer seems to be, in a word, Communication - with a capital C. Leading shop stewards can see the managing director at any time, and there are regular meetings of top and middle management with the stewards, printed minutes being distributed throughout the yards. And so problems can be quickly dealt whit before they have time to become a nuisance. Surely, here is a lesson for everyone? One thins - the continuing success of Scotland's "other" Clyde shipbuilders - is certain. Expending Greenock on the Lower Cycle.
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