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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13. Wednesbury firm prepares for a big expansion
Purity Soft Drinks was preparing for major growth in December 1985 with a new extension to its bottling and warehousing plant in Mounts Road, Wednesbury. The £200,000 investment, including new machinery, was set to more than double production, while the company also planned to increase its workforce by around 50 per cent. The expansion included new equipment to boost production of fruit juices and mixers, as well as a cash-and-carry counter for local trade. Pictured outside the extension are Mac Ward, Mike Cox, Stan Dunn, Douglas Cox and Tim Cox. Do you remember Purity Soft Drinks or its Wednesbury factory? Did you or someone in your family work there? | Express & Star archive
14. Business booming on the Pensnett Estate
C and C Bedding was expanding rapidly in October 1988, taking an additional 6,676 sq ft unit on the Pensnett Estate to accommodate its growing business. The new space included a mill for making furniture frames, helping the company complete the production of beds and sofa beds alongside its range of linen and quilt covers. Ray Cadman and Phillip Sanderson are pictured following the expansion. Do you remember C and C Bedding or working on the Pensnett Estate? Did you or someone in your family work in the local furniture industry? | Express & Star archive
15. A busy day at the warehouse
Workers at Capper-Neill Plastics Ltd are pictured unloading a lorry at the company’s warehouse on Spring Road Industrial Estate, Ettingshall, in September 1980. The photograph captures a routine part of working life at a local industrial business, with goods being moved from the lorry into the warehouse ready for the next stage of their journey. Do you remember Capper-Neill Plastics or the Spring Road Industrial Estate? Were you, a relative or a friend among the people who worked there? We’d love to hear your memories of the factory, the workers and what the area was like in the 1980s. | Express & Star archive
16. A major export order for a Dudley firm
Maverex International of Old Forge Trading Estate, Dudley Road, Lye, had secured a £300,000 order from India in November 1985. The photograph shows a top-of-the-range core manufacturing plant being prepared for an Indian tractor factory, with group manufacturing director Bob Williams and fitter Brian Turley pictured alongside the machinery. The order was part of a successful year for Maverex, which was also exporting to Canada, Norway, South Africa and Iran. Do you remember Maverex International or its factory in Lye? Did you or someone you know work in the local engineering industry? | Express & Star archive