In May 1973 Laing announced a £3.6 million contract to build a new tablet factory covering a five acre plot at Boots' site in Beeston. The factory was built in 1974/75, during which time the company worked through the three-day week and a shortage of steel - the original timeframe was therefore extended by six months. When the project was completed in 1975, it was published as being worth £4 million. The building had a roof with a single pitch and contained 103 rooms on the ground floor, with a suspended service floor above supported by steel beams. Over 300 types of tablets would be produced at the factory; the interior was designed to meet the new cleanliness and contamination standards of the pharmaceutical industry and a "highly sophisticated air-conditioning plant" in the factory operated 40 separate air conditioning units.
This image was catalogued as part of the Breaking New Ground Project in partnership with the John Laing Charitable Trust in 2019-20.
This is part of the Series: JLP01/10 John Laing Photographic Collection Colour Negatives and Transparencies; within the Collection: JLP01 John Laing Photographic Collection
© Historic England Archive. John Laing Photographic Collection
Late 20th Century Factory
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