Slough Trading Estate- The Prototypical Industrial Estate

At the mention of Slough Trading Estate, any Briton with a TV will probably start to hum [Rod Stewart|Handbags and Gladrags], the theme from [The Office]. [Slough], and in particular its soulless business parks and industrial estates, have been a figure of fun in the British imagination ever since the poet [John Betjeman] called for its utter (rhyming) destruction in 1937 ("Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough/ It isn't fit for humans now").

Not only was the Slough Trading Estate the first such facility in Slough, it has a good claim to being the first [industrial estate] in the world. It owes its origins to a remarkable act of [opportunism] which took advantage of the [wreckage] left after [World War I].

Maintaining Mechanised Warfare

World War I was the first mechanised war. [maxim gun|Mechanical guns] were used [en masse] by both sides. Trucks, buses and [ambulance]s served the fronts. The [tank] had to be invented, and it duly rolled out of a [Machine Design|design] [committee] onto the blood-puddled muck. Colossal [dreadnought]s ploughed the seas, spitting 12-inch shells at each other. Britain faced a huge problem in maintaining its fleet of war vehicles. There were not many [mechanic]s in the country, and they were scattered across it.

The [British Army|army] set up a huge 600 [acre] site at the edge of Slough. Their idea was that broken down vehicles could be transferred by [Great Western Railway|train] and ship from the warzones in [France] and [Belgium] and repaired in Slough by a large, dedicated team of sequestered [mechanics] and engineers. Then, rolled back onto the boat and sent back to the [trench warfare|trenches]. 1.8 million square feet of workshops and garages were built, and broken-down cars, buses, ambulances, and motorcycles began to arrive by the score. A grand plan, let down by a continued lack of mechanics. Slough Motor Vehicle [Depot] wasn't quite finished before the war ended in [1918].

Clearing up the Mess

By [1920], 17,000 vehicles were stacked up and the place was known as "The Dump". The military had no need for it or any of the vehicles anymore. After all, another war in Europe was unthinkable: the [Allies] had won [The Great War|the war] [to end all wars]. So they sold the whole thing to a [consortium] of local businessmen led by Sir Percival Perry and Sir Noel Mobbs. These guys lucked out.

They used the brand new [military] facilities to repair and [swords into ploughshares|civilianise] the wrecks. The sales of [refurbish]ed commercial vehicles created a revenue stream for the consortium. Slowly, the site was cleared and the freed space was leased to other businesses, and small factories and workshops grew up.

This town-within-a-town was a huge success: the consortium, known as [Slough Trading Estate], invested in [infrastructure] for the site. As the rain rinsed the [rust] away, [power station]s, shops, [public house]s, banks and more [workshop]s and factories emerged. Excellent [Great Western Railway|rail] and road communications with the markets and docks of London, the populous South East, and the rest of the country sustained a thriving, bustling hub of productivity.

The [great depression] caused mass unemployment across the developed world- but not in Slough. Thanks to their new industrial centre, they were known as the "hardest working town in [Britain]".

Innovation also flourished in these early days. The [Mars Bar] was launched in 1932, followed in later years by the [Milky Way] and [Malteasers], made then and now at Slough Trading Estate. Later decades also saw [Horlicks], [Dulux] paints, [Hawker Hurricane] fighter aircraft and [Citroen] cars all rolling off the site's production lines.

Modern Times

Slough Trading Estate is still up and running. Nowadays, it's down to 486 [acres] which support 600 buildings and 20,000 jobs. A mix of offices, factories, warehouses, [research and development|R&D] and retail facilities are operated there by [Ferrari], [Fiat], [LG Electronics], [O2], and countless small businesses.

The parent company (Slough Estates International) owns many similar sites around [Europe] and the [USA]. And the "[industrial ecology]" model of a dense [industrial estate] or [business park] supporting a mix of small businesses and global megacorps is replicated around the world- all due to a decision to pool vehicle repair facilities in time of war.

Sources:

Slough Estates, http://www.sloughestates.com/buildings_for_business/our_business/history.asp

History of Slough, http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/history/slough.shtml

Business in Slough (warning, obnoxious screen-reader), http://www.businessinberkshire.co.uk/businessinslough/news3.html

My boss's ramblings a few months ago

Corporate Homepage, http://www.sloughte.com/STE/

Slough Trading Estate (place)