By NOEL MURPHY
ANOTHER ERA has ended for Geelong manufacturing with delivery of the last pot manufactured for Alcoa’s Point Henry smelter.
The final heavy steel container left Brockman Engineering at Corio on the back of an oversize truck bearing the painted message ‘Thanks Alcoa’ after decades of supplying the aluminium-maker.
Brockman Engineering is one of the more obvious indirect victims of the impending Alcoa closure.
Employee Peter Duffy said the end of the smelter pot contract was an emotional crossroad for staff.
“I’ve worked here on and off since 1981. All these trucks and drivers have been coming in once or twice a week, cutting up, repairing or taking new pots to Alcoa,” he said.
“In recent times Alcoa’s not been replacing (the pots) as much as they were in the past and operating at just half or even a third.
“It’s a bid sad the last one’s gone kind of unnoticed. It’s good to know we did such a good job for them, people doing those jobs here have taken pride in their work.”
Alcoa remained tight-lipped about details for the Point Henry closure and the site’s remediation.
“The smelter is on track to close in August,” Alcoa spokesperson Nichola Holgate told the Independent.
“Alcoa has a well-established decommissioning process, the details of which we shall be working through in the coming months.”
