- 1. ECONOMIC SYSTEMS AND DEVELOPMENT
- What factors influence the location of industry ?
- How has the location of industries changed over time ?
2. INDUSTRY AS A SYSTEM Industry as a whole, or a factory as an
individual unit, can be regarded as a system.
- Manufacturing processes generally in a factory.
For a firm to be profitable and to remain in business, the value
of its outputs must be greater than the cost of its inputs. Some of
the profit should then be re-invested, e.g. in modernising the
factory and introducing new technology. 3. What factors are
important when locating a factory / industry ? Labour Capital
Markets Transport Government Policies Technology Leisure facilities
Raw materials Power Flat land HUMAN AND ECONOMIC FACTORS PHYSICAL
FACTORS 4. What Factors are Important when locating a Factory?
Physical Factors Raw Materials: The bulkier and heavier these are
to transport, the nearer the factory should be located to the raw
materials. This was even more important when transport was poor.
Power energy:This is needed to work the machines in the factory.
Early industry needed to be sited near to fast-flowing rivers or
coal reserves, but today electricity can be transported long
distances. Site and Land:Industries should be built on FLAT land
with room to expand. The land is often low-quality as it is cheaper
to purchase. Human and Economic Factors Labour:This includes both
quantity (large numbers in nineteenth-century factories) and
quality (as some areas demand special skills as technology
develops). Capital:Early industry depended on wealthy
entrepreneurs. Now banks and governments may provide the money.
Markets:The size and location of markets have become more important
than the source of raw materials. Transport:Costs increase when
items moved are bulky, fragile, heavy or perishable. Industries
want to save money. Economies of scale :Small units may become
unprofitable and so merge with, or are taken over by, other firms.
5. Improved Technology:The better the technology, the faster the
speed of production. Leisure Facilities:Both within the town and
the surrounding countryside, leisure activities are becoming more
desirable. Government Policies:Governments control most wealth so
can offer industries money to locate in certain areas . Human and
Economic Factors
- 1. Describe and explain an example of an industry where being
located near to the following factors is important:
-
-
- Government help e.g. grants
- 2. What are footloose industries?
6. 7. CHANGING INDUSTRIES CASE STUDY : SOUTH WALES
- Why did iron and steel decline in Wales?
- Where are new iron and steel factories located ? Why ?
8. HOW MANY MINERS ARE THERE IN WALES ? 9. CHANGING INDUSTRIES
CASE STUDY : SOUTH WALES Port Talbot integrated Steelworks 10. BOC
at Port Talbot Integrated Steelworks at Port Talbot Why do heavy
industries locate at Port Talbot? 1) cheap, flat and plentiful
reclaimed land 2) accessible near the M4 and on the coast (port)
11. There is only one remaining steelworks in South Wales.This is
located at Port Talbot (Llanwern steelworks closed in 2001 causing
1340 jobs to be lost).The Port Talbot steelworks is called an
integrated steelworks because all stages of manufacture take place
on one site.The high quality coal and iron ore have now been
exhausted in South Wales. Nowadays coal and iron ore are imported
from abroad where high quality raw materials can be extracted more
cheaply. It is therefore more efficient for the steelworks to be
located on the coast. Traditional Industries on the coast -
Integrated Steelworks Give reasons why raw materials can be
extracted more cheaply from abroad. 12. CASE STUDY : THE UK IRON
AND STEEL INDUSTRY
- As the raw materials are mainly imported by bulk carrier ships,
the most favoured locations for iron and steel plants are atBREAK
OF BULK POINTS.
- What are break of Bulk points ?
- The best locations are, therefore, atdeep water portswhere the
heavy imported raw materials are unloaded eg Port Talbot.
- Large integrated iron and steel works are the most efficient
locations. Large areas of flat land are needed and again, coastal
areas have large expanses of land available for development.
13. How have governments tried to encourage industry in the UK ?
CASE STUDY : SOUTH WALES
- Who did this encourage to locate in Wales ?
14. Ebbw Vale Festival Park Shopping The WDA (Welsh Development
Agency), local authorities and the private sector spent 60 million
on converting the area from a wasteland of spoil heaps into the
Ebbw Vale Garden Festival. Festival Park Factory Shopping Village
is now located on this site. 15. What has been done?WDA(Welsh
Development Agency) UK Government European RegionalDevelopment Fund
The Valleys are a Development Area.This means that industries are
encouraged to the area by offering them incentives such as grants,
reduced business rates, planning permission and premises. Sources
of Regional Assistance 16. Who gains from regional assistance ?
Rhondda gains new jobs Fenner is closing its Hull and Peterborough
factories to move its production to Maerdy. The company has been
attracted to the Rhondda by 12 million in government grants. The
factory is a godsend. Maerdys colliery closed in 1990 putting 400
out of work and male unemployment stands at 25%. The new factory
will be built on this site.Eventually, the factory, which makes
mouldings for the car industry, will employ 500 people. 1995 Why
did Fenner move its production to Maerdy? Who loses and who
benefits from Fenners decision? 17. Lucky Goldstar in Newport LG, a
South Korean multinational company, decided to locate a semi
conductor plant in Newport, South Wales in 1996. 18. Why do you
think LG located in Newport? What type of support jobs may be
generated? South Wales celebrates with Korean multinational
investment Lucky Goldstar (LG) plans to build a new factory on a
250 acre site at Imperial Park in Newport. The factory, which
eventually aims to employ 6,100, will produce semi conductors and
television parts. It is likely that another 15,000 support jobs
will be generated.LG were given a generous subsidy in order to
attract their investment to South Wales. The WDA refuses to confirm
rumours that the grant was as much as 200 million. This is
equivalent to 20,000 per job. July 1996 19. Summary selected
industries in South Wales Lucky Goldstar Tourism in the Valleys Big
Pit at Blaenavon and Rhondda Heritage Park at TrehafodEbbw Vale
Corus galvanizing steel and tin plating tertiary and quaternary
CorusIntegrated steel works Nickel and copper plating, DVLA HQ
(Driving License) Business parks E.g. Sony and Hotpoint in Bridgend
Industrial Park 20. HOW HAS INDUSTRY CHANGED IN SOUTH WALES?
- Look at page 27 in booklets
- South Wales was once famous for its coal and steelworks in
valleys such as the Rhondda.
- The industrial scene today, is very different.
- The old heavy industries have gone and new industries
fromOVERSEAShave located there due toINWARD INVESTMENT .
- What is Inward Investment ?
- This is where a government office eg Welsh Development Agency,
has offered financial incentives to companies to set up in the
area.
- (This area also received financial support from the Central
government under Assisted area scheme).
- Much of the new industry isHI-TECH INDUSTRY.
- This is a general term used to describe a range of recently
developed information technology industries involving
micro-electronics and related activities.
- South Wales has therefore, moved fromheavy industries to light
manufacturing industriessuch as electronics etc.
21. Summary In the nineteenth century and first half of the
twentieth century, the coal and iron and steel industries dominated
the landscape of the _______ of South Wales. These industries
prospered due to the accessibility of raw materials and due to the
fact that Britain had an _______ which provided a ready market.
These industries declined in the latter half of the twentieth
century because Britain lost its Empire, the raw materials became
exhausted and there was competition from abroad. In addition, coal
is no longer the major source of _______ in Britain. Coal is an
example of a _______ industry.Iron and steel is an example of
a_______ industry. The raw materials that make iron are iron ore,
_______ and _______.Steel production increased because it is
stronger and less _______ than iron. primary tertiary secondary
fuel malleable Empire coal limestone coast Valleys steel
brittle
