Terberg DTS hires staff from CSS Fire Vehicles (Carmichaels)

As we previously reported, all of the employees at CSS Fire Vehicles, formerly Carmichael, were made redundant last week and the firm, in Weir Lane, Worcester, is now expected to go into liquidation.

The company, which built and maintained fire engines, was once one of Worcester’s largest employers, however in recent years it struggled to compete with foreign manufacturers.

Terberg DTS, which worked with CSS Fire Vehicles on a Ministry of Defence contract, has offered jobs to former engineers at the firm.

Alisdair Couper, managing director of TerbergDTS, aged 52, said: “We have had four job offers accepted as of yesterday and are interviewing further today and tomorrow.

“Terberg is 150-years-old next year, we recognise the value of age and it’s tragic that CSS looks as if it won’t survive. Age affords no security in today’s tough markets. We are reaching out to existing CSS customers to support them in this difficult time.”

Readers have shared their memories of Carmichael, following our story about the company’s demise last week.

John Griffiths, aged 70, of Halifax Drive, Worcester, said his dad joined Carmichael after serving in World War Two.

He added: “He started at The Butts site and then they moved to Gregory’s Mill Street. The first fire engine was built in 1947. My dad was in charge of the paint spraying department.

“When it was at Gregory’s Mill Street it employed 170 people. It’s a shock it’s closing, it’s another big company that’s gone to the wall.”

Mr Griffiths shared a picture of his father, also named John, alongside co-workers and the company’s boss, Harry Carmichael, next to the firm’s first fire engine.

He said that his dad, who died aged 88 in 2008, knew the company was in trouble when he retired in the 1980s.

A source, who did not work at the company but is familiar with the details of the redundancies, previously said around 25 people had lost their jobs at the firm.