After 63 years, Arklow Pottery closes its doors in April 1998, with 140 redundancies. The announcement by owners Noritake came following losses of £7.5 million, over a 20-year period – they cited an increase in competition from overseas and declining demand for pottery ware as factors in the decision.
Many workers are left saddened – some had been employed in the pottery for over 50 years. At the peak of operations in the 1980’s Arklow Pottery had employed a workforce of almost 1,000 people.
