Orient House (which is actually the name of the sister building to our explore) was built in between 1913 and 1915 as premises of Kettering Industrial Co-operative Society. It was first used for making clothes and then later, for manufacturing packing materials. However, the building ceased to be used and fell into disrepair. After speaking to a local shop owner he stated that part of the building had been vacant for close to 30 years (Probably became storage for the main factory) and the rest of the site closed down some 3-4 years ago.
Seddon packaging produced all manner of rigid and folding carton boxes, jigsaws in addition to printing and bespoke requests. 2005 saw it cut its workforce by approximately a fifth to 97 staff and in 2007 it was subject to a management buyout and subsequently rebranded, Rockingham Boxes. Alas within nine months the receivers were called in and the staff Christmas present was to be unemployment. One worker was quoted as saying “A lot of us had a feeling we would have our Christmas holiday and come back to find the gates locked.”
As some photos will show the company’s client list was extensive, our explore uncovered jigsaws bound for WH Smiths, Balderdash boards, Ludo and all manner of DVD boxes. Visited with Skeleton Key and a great day all in all.
Onto the photos
The Building
The Contents
Seddon packaging produced all manner of rigid and folding carton boxes, jigsaws in addition to printing and bespoke requests. 2005 saw it cut its workforce by approximately a fifth to 97 staff and in 2007 it was subject to a management buyout and subsequently rebranded, Rockingham Boxes. Alas within nine months the receivers were called in and the staff Christmas present was to be unemployment. One worker was quoted as saying “A lot of us had a feeling we would have our Christmas holiday and come back to find the gates locked.”
As some photos will show the company’s client list was extensive, our explore uncovered jigsaws bound for WH Smiths, Balderdash boards, Ludo and all manner of DVD boxes. Visited with Skeleton Key and a great day all in all.
Onto the photos
The Building
The Contents
You should take a look around it if you haven't (Access is a lot easier than Alex76)
