Fire attack won’t kill our business
Machinery at New Town Skip Hire was destroyed
THE owners of a recycling firm pledged this week they won’t be driven out of business after a fire attack destroyed machinery worth £500,000 at their Motherwell yard.
The blaze means some workers at New Town Skip Hire will lose their jobs while efforts begin to replace the hi-tech equipment lost.
Martin McLindon, who set up the firm with business partner Billy Neilson six years ago, admitted he hit ‘rock bottom’ when he saw the devastation.
However, the pair are determined to rebuild their business and will receive an award tomorrow (Thursday) to mark their success in a national industry accreditation scheme.
The blaze broke out at the Albert Street yard around 2.30 on Sunday morning and firemen battled for several hours to bring it under control, with the road closed for a time.
Evidence that it was started deliberately was captured by the firm’s CCTV cameras. The film shows two men who climbed a fence before torching highly flammable material.
New Town Skips employs 24 workers including drivers and staff who process waste materials collected mostly from local companies.
A massive custom-built machine which separates materials was destroyed by the fire.
Mr McLindon said: “I feel I’m at rock bottom. All our money, time and energy has gone into this business.
“At the moment we are trying to pick ourselves up, but we’ll do everything we can to keep trading.”
Full story in this week’s Motherwell Times, out now.
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Weather for Motherwell, Scotland
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: North west
