Founded by William Bright in 1881
William Bright
1911 - Obituary WILLIAM BRIGHT died at his residence at Pontardulais on August 14, 1911, after a short illness.
Mr. Bright was prominently connected with the tinplate trade of South Wales. He was one of the projectors of the Teilo Tinplate
Company at Pontardulais in 1877, and acted as manager of that company for ten years.In 1881 he established
the Fairwood Tinplate Works, Gowerton, of which he continued to be managing director up to the time of his death.For a
number of years he was consulting manager and director of a large tinplate works in Italy, but had recently relinquished
his interest there. He rendered great service at the time of the inauguration of the present Tinplate Association, and had
been a member of the executive of that body from the time of its foundation in 1899. Mr. Bright was a member of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and was elected a member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1890.In 1906, when the
American Institute of Mining Engineers visited this country on the invitation of the Iron and Steel Institute, he acted as a
member of the General Reception Committee.
The "Fairwood Tin plate Works Gowerton" Gowerton Women worked as "Openers"here in the manufacture of tinplate and stood close to the rolling procedure The hot tinplate was stacked in piles and would need to be split apart. An opener wore a homemade protective glove with a "lead palm". If the lady opener could not split the sheets apart with a sharp blow from the lead palm of her glove she would complete the job with a machete type tool
