ONE of Tavistock’s last major manufacturing companies has been shut down by its American owners, leaving 15 people redundant.

Superwinch at Pitts Cleave Industrial Estate has been running in Tavistock for 45 years but last month its American headquarters declared voluntary insolvency.

Formerly Fairey Winches, before being taken over by American company Superwinch, the Tavistock company had been based in the town at Abbey Rise since 1974 and relocated to new premises at Pitts Cleave Industrial Estate in 2006. At its height, the Tavistock maufacturing company employed more than 150 people.

Having been down-sized it years the workforce stood at 15, with many having worked at the firm for more than a decade.

Tavistock’s Superwinch manager Richard Keeling, who has worked at the company for 30 years, told the Times on Tuesday: ‘It wasn’t a big surprise to us as we knew they were struggling in the US. The branch here was still thriving though.’

Read the full story in today’s Tavistock Times.