Coors Ceramics Electronics Ltd, Glenrothes, Scotland

The majority of visitors to the ‘Kingdom of Fife’ probably arrive there by the 2.5 kilometres long Forth Road Bridge, the southern gateway to Fifeshire, which is geographically bound north and south by the Firths of Tay and Forth. Glenrothes, less than 30 minutes' drive from the Bridge on a modern dual carriageway, was planned as a New Town with the original aim of ‘establishing a self‐contained and balanced community for working and living’. The town's site has a long history — radiocarbon dating revealing 3000 BC as the construction date of Balfarg Henge — but since 1948 has been developed along Garden City principles featuring low‐rise suburban layouts with a good interlinking road network and spacious parking areas. A recent visit to this region took Hybrid Circuits to the Southfield Industrial Estate, which sadly reflects the signs of the times with several deserted factory units — a situation that has played into the hands of Coors Ceramics Electronics Ltd who in December 1992 announced a major expansion of their Glenrothes operation. The acquisition in October 1992 of adjacent property will enable the company to treble its existing manufacturing facility to occupy 30,000 ft2. This move will create significant new jobs in a phased programme that will see expansion of the core business and the introduction of a number of new ceramic and ceramic‐related products. With a presence in Scotland since 1981, the company was reorganised in July 1988 to form Coors Ceramics Electronics Ltd (CCEL) as a laser machining operation for the processing of thick and thin film ceramic substrates. It also acts as the sales and marketing facility for Europe for these products and for the US Electronic Products Group of the parent company. CCEL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coors Ceramics Company of Colorado, USA, whose activities are divided over three units — the company's headquarters in Golden, Colorado, a unit in Grand Junction, Colorado, and the Glenrothes facility.