BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Irish Culture Waterford crystal

A friend who recently returned from a trip to Ireland said that they were told at the Waterford factory that it will be closing, because they can't compete with China!!! Mary Ellen, or others, what do you know about this?

"Only" one of the Waterford facilities is closing, the one in Dungarven, Waterford. It's a terrible shame, as generations have worked there and are still there. It's a "company town."

The headquarters in the city of Waterford is still going strong, and I hope that the Dungarven artisans will be transferred there. In a way, it makes sense to consolidate, but it's sad for those who felt they were set for life.

There is also the Waterford presence in the States, in Lakewood, NJ, and some Irish workers are rotated through there.

China looms large in the world's economy, but I try not to think about the future of this. Will every piece of furniture be veneered particle board? Will every toy make the kid cry the next day? Will China rule? Maybe I'm old enough not to have to see it happen. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, Mary Ellen. I'm glad to know that the whole thing isn't in jeopardy. I only have 2 small pieces that I got when I visited the factory, but I treasure them and the memory of that trip. I, too, hope that those workers who will lose their jobs can get on elsewhere. It would be a shame to lose those skills.

Ooooh, what's the factory like? <img src="/images/graemlins/beamedup.gif" alt="" />

They guide you right in to the glass blowing area where you can watch pieces being created. Then you get to meet a Master Cutter and watch that process. You end in the show room, and the day I was there they were offering to engrave any piece you bought...so I bought a small sea horse piece and had it engraved as a memento of the trip.
You should go next time you're over there.

The seahorse is the Waterford trademark. Some of the pieces my mother had still have their little seahorse sticker on them, 60 or more years later. They were washed, carefully, and the seahorse avoided as much as possible. I never take it off if I can help it. That would be for display pieces, not for goblets and such. The seahorse is long gone off them. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
I would like very much to see it done in Ireland. I've seen photos and it's just as I had imagined. Still, there's nothing like seeing it in person.