For many people across the Black Country and Staffordshire, the 1980s meant factories, workshops and industrial estates were a familiar part of everyday life. The sound of machinery, the smell of oil and metal, workers arriving for shifts and lorries coming and going were all part of the local landscape.
These photographs take us back to a decade when traditional skills were being joined by new technology. Engineers, machinists, printers, foundry workers and factory teams were keeping production moving, while local firms invested in new machinery, developed new products and won orders from around the world.
From Wolverhampton and Willenhall to Walsall, Dudley, Stafford and beyond, these pictures capture the people, workplaces and businesses that helped shape the region.
Do you remember any of these factories or firms? Perhaps you worked in one of them, or had a family member who did? Take a look through and see how many bring back memories - the pictures are in no particular order - and share yours in the comments.
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9. Making parts for buses
R O (Pressings and Fabrications) Ltd, part of the Rubery Owen Group of Companies, was celebrating its first birthday in 1980. The company, founded in Darlaston, was showcasing its work in the motor industry, including the fabrication of the rear suspension for the Leyland National bus. The photograph offers a glimpse of the skilled manufacturing work carried out by a company with strong Black Country roots. Do you remember working for Rubery Owen or one of its associated companies? What other local firms do you remember supplying parts to the motor industry? | Express & Star archive
10. Doubling the space to meet demand
Ercon Metal Finishing Systems had doubled its factory space at Willenhall in December 1982 to cope with growing demand for its purpose-built industrial finishing equipment. Founded five years earlier by joint managing directors Terry Boyle and Colin Green, the company had moved to the Willenhall Trading Estate in 1979. With an order book worth £1 million, it had taken over the adjoining 3,500 sq ft unit. Terry Boyle and Colin Green are pictured at the expanding factory. Do you remember Ercon or the Willenhall Trading Estate? Did you or someone you know work there? | Express & Star archive
11. When computers arrived on the factory floor
Application Control Electronics in Bilston offered a glimpse of the future when this photograph was taken in March 1983, showing the software facility at its new factory. It captures a period of rapid change in industry, as traditional manufacturing was increasingly joined by electronics and computer technology. Do you remember when computers first appeared in your workplace? What was your first experience of using one, and did you think they would change working life as much as they have? | Express & Star archive
12. The brothers taking down a Walsall landmark
Demolition brothers Russell and Cliff Clarke were given the unenviable task of bringing down the White Lion in Green Lane, Walsall, in August 1980. The brothers, from Ladywood, Birmingham, worked for Wednesbury firm H E Humphries and could only carry out the demolition on Sundays, when traffic was quieter. Working high up on the nearly 200-year-old pub was certainly a job for the sober, despite the brothers enjoying a pint once the work was done. The demolition was eventually to be completed with the help of machinery. Do you remember the White Lion in Green Lane? What other Walsall buildings do you remember disappearing during the 1980s? | Express & Star archive