ONE of Kendal's best-known companies is entering its final days of manufacturing, bringing to a close a proud history of decades of shoe making in the town, reports Michaela Robinson-Tate.

The last shoes will be completed at the Springer factory next week, ending more than 150 years of K Shoes manufacturing.

Although warehouse and shoe repair factory workers will continue at Kendal, staff expressed sadness this week at the end of a manufacturing era.

The closure of the factory, with the loss of 167 jobs, was announced in the New Year. Parent company Clarks International blamed increasing competition from overseas and changing customer demands.

Leaving the Natland Road site earlier this week on his way to a job interview was Anthony Major, 41, who had worked at K Shoes for 24 years and was due to finish today (Friday).

He was resigned to the closure, and said that staff were getting on with their work, albeit in a subdued manner.

However, he confessed that he was finding the end of the factory "a bit odd": "It's a bit like a family the way we have been in there together for such a long while."

John Keery, for Clarks, said workers had been leaving gradually as their jobs finished.

Around 23 were due to depart today, leaving 58 staff. Of those, approximately 50 would go by next Friday, May 2, with the remaining ten or so staying on for clearing up work.

He said what happened to the parts of the site that were not needed by Clarks would be up to planners and developers, although the area was currently under a light industrial planning designation.

Pointing out that the former K Shoes Low Mills site further along Natland Road had been converted to housing, Mr Keery said: "If it can stay light industrial use and if there are people who want to keep it as that use, we would see that as being preferable."

KFAT union Kendal branch president Les Williams will himself be finishing next week after 37 years with the firm. Despite the sad events, Mr Williams said morale among staff had been "quite good".

"They have all kept their spirits up. People are really, really sad and gutted that it's the end of manufacturing altogether but they have kept the morale up as well as they can."

The workers' settlement was not the "best in the world" but was as good as the union had been able to negotiate, he said. Clarks had made efforts to bring in job centre staff and financial advisers to help those losing their jobs.

The majority of those who had left had found alternative work, said Mr Williams, although some were intending to take time off to help them get over the shock.

"A lot of these people have never worked anywhere else. They have come here straight from school and this has been their livelihood over the last 30 or 40 years."

KFAT union steward Kelvin Alderson said: "It's a shame what's happened with the factories, it's absolutely diabolical but it's done now.

"People are going out with more money. They have had months to find other jobs which they probably would not do anywhere else.

"If you walk into Gallowbarrow now it's like a morgue but it's to be expected isn't it?"

April 25, 2003 11:00