One of Angus’s most famous engineering names is facing closure in a move which could lead to dozens of job losses.
Staff at Matrix International in Brechin have been told their jobs at the East Mill Road factory are under threat.
It follows a decision by the US-based company owners to consider relocating operations elsewhere.
The news comes 18 months after the historic site was left under four feet of water when Storm Babet struck the Angus town in October 2023.
In January 2024, Matrix staff were told manufacturing and parts production was to cease there.
However, assembly operations had continued in Brechin.
Closure would bring more than 85 years of engineering history to end.
Matrix workforce numbered around 100 before Babet hit
Matrix was previously rebranded as Warner Electric.
The parent company merged with Milwaukee-based electric motor and transmission components manufacturer Regal Rexnord Corporation.
The company owners have been asked to comment on the Brechin situation.
At the time of the 2024 announcement, there were thought to be around 100 Angus employees.
It is not known exactly how many remain on at the site following the workforce restructure.
However, The Courier can reveal staff were told on Thursday about the closure plan.
They were informed the company is exploring the transfer of production to other Regal Rexnord facilities. At this stage it is not known whether those are in the UK.
River South Esk’s part in factory foundation
The devastating irony of the Brechin situation is the part the River South Esk has played in its bookends of history.
The company was established in 1939 by Sir Harry Harley, the chairman of a Coventry engineering firm.
On his recommendation, Angus was chosen as the site for a satellite factory to ensure armament production could continue during the war.
He had regularly fished the River South Esk during the pre-war years.
It led to the site of Brechin’s old flax mill becoming a factory that made naval gun turrets and electro-hydraulic mechanisms for anti-aircraft guns.
At the height of wartime production, the then Coventry Gauge and Tool employed 1,000 staff, many of them women.
Post-war, the business switched production to commercial contracts.
In 1959, Matrix began making power transmission products, with the introduction of mechanical clutches.
And into the 1960s, the company expanded its range to include brakes and couplings.
Its name was changed to Matrix at the end of that decade, and has endured despite further ownership changes.
Latest blow to town
The Matrix announcement follows the loss of another long-established Brechin business name last year.
More than 50 jobs were lost when blinds manufacturer Stevens Scotland shut down.
Its Denburn Way factory closed in December after half a century of trading in the town.
Earlier this week, Angus was hit by another employment blow.
Irn Bru owner AG Barr announced it is to axe its Strathmore Water brand in a move which it is feared will lead to the closure of the firm’s plant at West High Street in Forfar.
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