Secondary Industry Where is it? Why is there?

Which of these are secondary economic activities?

You don’t find factories everywhere There are lots in some places, one or 2 in others Some places don’t seem to have any at all. If you were thinking of building a factory, what would you need to know before you could decide where to put it?

These are a few of the thoughts I had Is there land where I can build it? Is it big enough if I want to expand later? Are there enough people of the right sort to do the work nearby? Or if I need specialists, can I get them to move here? Is there a good power supply? What about the raw materials I need – are they nearby or are so light it does not matter if they have to be brought in? Can I get my goods to the customers easily or is there a good transport network to take them? Will the government give me set-up grants? Can I install the latest technology – are the IT links reliable and powerful? Is this going to be a nice place to live – will I be able to attract more people to move here – this is especially true if my factory needs highly trained outsiders

Obviously what you need most depends very much on what you are trying to do Look at the map – it shows industry in the UK up to 1970 Most of these industries were started in the 19th century. What primary industry do you notice being mentioned a lot?

Obviously what you need most depends very much on what you are trying to do Why do you think that that primary industry is alongside many of the other industry mentioned? Where you had steel industry, you also needed lots of iron ore and limestone. Where do you think you could find those raw materials? What about textiles – are the raw materials nearby?

So lets look at a diagram you have on your worksheets and see how far we have got So far which of these have we mentioned raw materials – coal, iron, limestone – all big and bulky – all close to the factory. We will come back to this later

What happened next? Industries that had used coal to fuel engines that powered the factories was replaced by electricity that came down wires from power stations that were built elsewhere. So new ones did not have to be near the coalfields any more. The iron ore began to run out so we had to import it from LEDCs – In the 1970s and 80s the LEDCs thought it would be better to turn their iron ore into steel themselves – the wages were much cheaper. Transporting bulky raw material was expensive – much better to make it close to the mine.

What happened next? The same thing happened to the textile industry in the 1960s – while India was part of the empire, all their cotton was sent to England for processing. After independence, it all changed It cost less to send it from the field to the local towns and the wages were cheaper and workers rights were weaker, so they could make garments for much less and sell it for a greater profit. Look at all the industries on the map and you will see there are hardly any of these ones left

Where did the industries disappear from? Where were the new one? Here is the 1970s map and 2000 map. What changed? What was still there 9 years ago? Where did the industries disappear from? Where were the new one?

Now talking about the types of industries: Here is the 1970s map and 2000 map. What changed? What was still there 9 years ago? Now talking about the types of industries: What disappeared? What took its place?

Do the new industries need the raw materials nearby? Why? Do the new industries need lots of space ? Which? How do most manufactured get to the market? So if you were building a new factory, what kind of place would you put it? Would you worry if it was not near the market (where you wanted to sell it)? Some yes – which? Some no- which?

What about labour? If your factory needs a lot of people, where would you go? One thing you might not have thought of – what role does government play in you siting you new factory?

Some of these used to be important, like machines in the cotton mills in the 1800s, and coal or water to power the factory. But electricity is everywhere – although a few industry need rather a lot – like aluminium smelting needs so much it is usually near a power station.

What do you know about these? Aluminium Smelter Jam Factory Car Plant Bakery Cement Works Electronic Product Manufacturer Aluminium is made by the electrolysis. It takes bauxite through which an electric current is passed and the aluminium is precipitated out. VERY HEAVY POWER NEEDS To see how cement is made: http://www.cement.org/basics/images/flashtour.html

What do you know about these? Aluminium Smelter Jam Factory Car Plant Bakery Cement Works Electronic Product Manufacturer So before we go on – what do you think is the most important thing about an aluminium smelter? What is the most important thing you need for a jam factory? Would you fly in strawberries from Spain and turn it into jam here or would you make the jam in Spain? Why? Do car plants make all the bits? So what do they need to be sure of being able to do to keep working? What did you find out about making cement? What did you need? What is important about bakery products? Would have a bakery in the north of Scotland to supply London? Why not?

Electronic Product Manufacturer A) Located close to a good transport network. The factory depends on parts being delivered just in time, as only a small amount of stock is kept. The finished product also needs to be taken away Aluminium Smelter Car Plant Bakery Cement Works Jam Factory Electronic Product Manufacturer

Electronic Product Manufacturer B) Located close to the market because the product needs to be sold on the day that it is made. Aluminium Smelter Car Plant Bakery Cement Works Jam Factory Electronic Product Manufacturer

Electronic Product Manufacturer C) Located close to the one main raw material, which does not travel well Aluminium Smelter Car Plant Bakery Cement Works Jam Factory Electronic Product Manufacturer

Electronic Product Manufacturer D) Located close to the two main raw materials which are heavy, bulky and expensive to transport. The factory is usually sited exactly in the middle, between the sources of the two raw materials. Aluminium Smelter Car Plant Bakery Cement Works Jam Factory Electronic Product Manufacturer

Electronic Product Manufacturer E) Located where the government will help with the costs because it will be employing hundreds of people. It needs good transport links but the components and finished product are light and compact Aluminium Smelter Car Plant Bakery Cement Works Jam Factory Electronic Product Manufacturer

Electronic Product Manufacturer F) Located where there is a very cheap source of electricity (power) because a lot is needed to process the raw material. The factory may buy the power or produce it's own. Aluminium Smelter Car Plant Bakery Cement Works Jam Factory Electronic Product Manufacturer

Homework I want you to think what you might like to produce if you were going to build a factory. Then I want you to think where you might put and why – does it need to be near the market or near the raw materials? How much labour does it need? Do you need good transport links or is that not important? Might you be able to get government help? You need to know the area, so I expect it will be somewhere near where you live, but it does not have to be. Let me give you an example

My Factory There is a lot of forestry around this way. It is all sheep and trees near here! Because it is remote, no-one has gas so we all have to use oil if we want central heating – this is becoming more and more expensive. So a lot of people are thinking about wood pellet stoves. But there is no factory locally so it has to brought miles and miles. Wood pellets are made from the waste from the forestry and waste from saw mills. We have a lot of conifers being chopped down and all the smaller branches are left to rot. Also only 6 miles down the road is a big sawmills which specialises in cutting long planks for building things like roofs – so they must have a lot off-cuts they don’t need. So my factory will make wood pellets

My example of homework I am going to build a wood pellet factory. The raw materials, waste wood, will be brought in big lorries from the saw mills and from the local forestry department. My site is 1 mile south of Rhayader on the A470, which is the main North-South route through Wales. It is also 1 mile south of the junction with the A44, a main East west route through Wales. So my transport links are very good. The site is also easily reached by lorries from the sawmill, 6 miles to the south also on the A470. The pellets will delivered in smaller lorries to people’s houses, where a blower on the back of the lorries with blow the pellets into a hopper. My site is just above the floodplain of the river, so will not be flooded when the river overflows it banks. Unemployment is quite high so getting workers will not be a problem. Also many of them will have forestry experience. I may get grants from the government as this is green energy and the Welsh Assembly are very keen to encourage it.