Glass firm in administration but tells 300 workers their jobs are safe

HUNDREDS of workers in Huddersfield have been assured that their jobs are safe following the collapse of a glass supply firm.

Liverpool-based Greenberg Group Ltd, trading as Greenberg Glass Contracts, has gone into administration in the face of worsening market conditions.

But a separate business, Greenberg Glass Emergency Ltd, which employs 300 people and is based at Crosland Moor, has not been affected by the administration and continues to trade normally. Its workers have been told that their jobs are safe.

Greenberg acquired the Crosland Moor site with its takeover of EG Glass in 2001.

The emergency glass business provides replacement glass to many of the biggest names in retailing. Its national call centre and project management team are based at Blackmoorfoot Road, Crosland Moor.

Greenberg Glass Contracts employs 160 people and supplies glazing to major commercial and retail developments around the UK.

However, its future is now in doubt following the appointment of David Whitehouse and Philip Duffy, partners at insolvency firm MCR, as joint administrators to manage the firm.

A spokesman for the administrators said the contracts business had been affected by the impact of the economic downturn on new shopping centre schemes.

He said: “The Greenberg Glass Group had spent the last 18 months going through an extensive restructuring programme, which included dividing the contracts and emergency business into two distinct businesses.

“While the emergency business continues to thrive, the contracts division had fallen victim to difficult market conditions.”

He said: “The administrators are looking to see if anyone wants to buy the business before they think about winding it up completely.”

Beryl Greenberg, marketing director, said: “The directors fought to keep the contracts business going and did everything in their power to save the jobs of loyal and hard-working staff.”

The emergency glass division is a market leader in emergency glazing and boarding up for nationwide retail chains and banks such as Marks & Spencer, New Look, WH Smith, Sainsbury’s, Thresher, Asda, Tesco and Lloyds TSB. The national call centre handles many thousands of calls a month.

Greenberg Glass was formed in 1936 and has more than 20 branches and depots – including ones in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Cardiff.