Abandoned Smith Kendon Altoids factory

Image: © Hywel Williams Taken: 25 Jun 2008

Until 2005, all the tins of Altoids curiously strong mints in the world were manufactured here in a factory in Bridgend. The brand even traded on its "Made in Great Britain" in advertising and packaging in America, where they were mostly consumed. The brand was bought by Wrigley's and within 12 months, nearly 200 people were made redundant and the building still stands empty to this day, still bearing its original company name and 3 decaying signs displaying the product it once made, not to mention a couple of years of unkempt bushes making the place look rather sad and tatty now. On one hand, it made sense to a big corporation as the product was hardly known by the general UK population - but on the other hand a sad end to a tradition of sweet making that has been on UK soil since the 1780s. Altoids are now made in a plant in Chatanooga, Tennessee and the tin now looks strangely bare without the once familiar "MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN" on its top.

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