Production Begun At £11m Lorry Works

The first lorry built at the British Motor Corporation's new £11,250.000 factory at Bathgate, West Lothian, was driven off the assembly line on Friday to the cheers of more than 300 employees and visitors.

The factory. which will eventually employ approximately 5,000 people; is to produce the B.M.C. group's total output of trucks, diesel engines, and tractors. When in full production, in the autumn of 1964, it will be turning out 1,000 trucks and 750 tractors a week. The first vehicle, assembled from parts produced at the company's Longbridge factory, was driven off the line by Mr K. H. J. Sinnott, the managing director, who said later that production had started exactly on time-15 months after the inaugural ceremony. It was hoped to turn out 100 trucks a week by the end of this year.