Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Brechin Matrix production moving to global sites as factory closure date revealed

The 86-year-old Angus engineering firm failed to recover from the devastation caused to Brechin by Storm Babet in October 2023.

Matrix International at East Mill Road in Brechin. Image: Google
Matrix International at East Mill Road in Brechin. Image: Google

Brechin’s historic Matrix International factory is slated for closure before the end of 2025.

In March, bosses at the East Mill Road engineering plant told staff their jobs were under threat.

US owners of the 86-year-old company said they were considering transferring operations abroad.

A consultation with the Angus workforce was launched.

It has now concluded and the future of the plant has been confirmed.

The decision will see parent company Regal Rexnord move Matrix International work from Brechin to other global sites.

Those are Shenzhen in China, Angers in France, and New Hartford in the USA.

The firm has said Angus production will run until November.

Matrix closure follows Storm Babet disaster

The news is the latest economic hammer blow to the town in the wake of Storm Babet.

Matrix – which began as a wartime engineering operation in 1939 – was swamped by the River South Esk in October 2023.

It was left under feet of water.

Three months later, staff were told manufacturing and production would cease there.

However, assembly of highly specialised electromagnetic equipment such as brakes and clutches continued.

It is thought to have employed around 100 staff in early 2024.

The company has been approached for comment on the latest developments.

The Matrix site is owned by local firm JJKS Estates.

Last month, company director Kevin Mackie said Regal Rexnord had committed to a lease until 2038 before Storm Babet struck.

Brechin Matrix International site owner Kevin Mackie.
Brechin businessman Kevin Mackie at the East Mill site. Image: DC Thomson

He continues to press Angus Council for details of their communications with the company in the wake of the disaster.

Mr Mackie and fellow JJKS director Jack Souttar have called for a full inquiry into the Matrix collapse.

The authority previously said it worked alongside Scottish Enterprise to help JJKS and Matrix after the storm.

Conversation