ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(80)352
Vol.1980/0127

Disclaimer
Conformément aurèglement(CEE,Euratom)n°354/83duConseildu1erfévrier1983
concernantl'ouvertureaupublicdesarchiveshistoriquesdelaCommunauté économique
européenneetdelaCommunautéeuropéennedel'énergieatomique(JOL43du15.2.1983,
p.1),telquemodifiéparlerèglement(CE,Euratom)n°1700/2003du22septembre2003
(JOL243du27.9.2003,p.1),cedossierestouvertaupublic.Lecaséchéant,lesdocuments
classifiésprésentsdanscedossierontétédéclassifiésconformément àl'article5dudit
règlement.
InaccordancewithCouncilRegulation(EEC,Euratom)No354/83of1February1983
concerningtheopeningtothepublicofthehistoricalarchivesoftheEuropeanEconomic
CommunityandtheEuropeanAtomicEnergyCommunity(OJL43,15.2.1983,p.1),as
amendedbyRegulation(EC,Euratom)No1700/2003of22September2003(OJL243,
27.9.2003,p.1),thisfileisopentothepublic.Wherenecessary,classifieddocumentsinthis
filehavebeendeclassified inconformitywithArticle5oftheaforementioned regulation.
InÜbereinstimmung mitderVerordnung(EWG,Euratom)Nr.354/83desRatesvom1.
Februar1983überdieFreigabederhistorischen ArchivederEuropäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft undderEuropäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI.L43vom15.2.1983,
S.1),geändertdurchdieVerordnung(EG,Euratom)Nr.1700/2003vom22.September2003
(ABI.L243vom27.9.2003,S.1),istdieseDateiderÖffentlichkeitzugänglich.Soweit
erforderlich,wurdendieVerschlusssachen indieserDateiinÜbereinstimmung mitArtikel5
dergenanntenVerordnungfreigegeben.

COMMISSION
OFTHE
UROPEAN COMMUNITIESCOM(80)352 final
Brussels,25th June1980
FOROFFICIAI USEONLY
GeneralSecretariat
REQUEST FORASSENT ,PURSUANT TOARTICLE 56.2a
OFTHE ECSC TREATY TOGRANTING ARECONVERSION LOAN TO
YATES CIRCUIT FOIL COMPANY LIMITED (UNITED KINGDOM )
\
(Communication from the Commission tothe Council )
C0M(80 )352 final

COMMUNICATION TOTHE COUNCIL
Subject :Request forassent ,pursuant toArticle 56.2a ofthe ECSC
Treaty togranting areconversion Loan toYates Circuit
Foil Company Limited (United Kingdom ).
Yates Circuit Foil Company Limited
Yates Circuit Foil Company Limited
:Expansion ofproduction facilities
forcopper foil
:TheAirfield ,SiIloth ,Cumbria ,
Northern Region
:fc9,222,000
:1:4,500,000 (+7,219,602 EUA)
:84new jobs ;
Interest reduction :3%points "peryear forfive years
on1,500,000 EUA
II. CONFORMITY WITH ARTICLE .56OFTHE ECSC TREATY
Theapplication isforassistance insupport ofaproject atSilloth ,
Cumbria -part oftheNorthern Region ,which covers thecounties of
Tyne andWear ,Cleveland ,Northumberland ,Durham andCumbria (excluding |
theFurness area ).TheRegion hasapopulation of3.2mandaworkforce j
of1.3m(approximately 5%oftheinsured working population oftheU.K. ). " ■
Ithas ahistory ofdependence upon traditional heavy industries -coal-
mining ,shipbuilding ,heavy electrical andmarine engineering andmetal
manufacture ,allofwhich have suffered adramatic decline inthepast •
25years .
i
Theeconomy ofWest Cumbria ,where Silloth issituated ,hasbeen based
oniron andsteel making ,and coal and iron oremining .InNovember
1979 thenumber unemployed intheRegion was114,515 (including 78,468
males )apercentage rate of8.2% (9.3% males )compared with anational
average of5.5% (6.3males ). IntheWorkington travel -to-work area ,
which includes Silloth ,theunemployment rate was7.5% (6.6% males ).
Thearea isalso economically disadvantaged because ofthedistance
from main communication arteries .
./.
Pi-.visionoiaddress:RuedelaLoi200,B-1040Brussels-Téléphoné350040-358040-Télégraphieaddress:«COMEURBrussels»-
Telex:.COMEURBRU 21877.I. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
»
Applicant
Beneficiary
Proj ect
Location
Investment
Loan requested
Jobs created
Interest reduction

SteelproductioninWestCumbriaisnowtotallyconcentrated at
Workington,whereBritishSteelrollingmillsproducerailsand
otherarticlesforBritishRail.Steelproduction atWorkington
ceasedin1975withtheclosureoftheElectricArcfurnace(35
redundancies).Employment attheworkshasfluctuated since1974,
althoughtherehasbeenanetoveralllossofapproximately 300
jobs.TheothercentreofsteelproductioninWestCumbria,at
Millom,closedin1968,withapproximately 570redundancies .
AlthoughSillothissituatedwithinacoal-fieldthereisonly
onecollierynowopeninWestCumbria,theHaigCollieryat
Whitehaven .TheSolwayColliery,atWorkington,closedinJune
1973withthelossofapproximately 580jobs.Twoothercollieries
atWorkington andoneatMaryportclosedinthelate1960's,result­
inginthelossofapproximately 1,700jobs.Thehaematiteironore
mineatMillomclosedin1968resultingin130redundancies .
TheU.K.Government hasdesignatedcertainareasofhighunemploy­
ment"assistedareas"wherefinancialincentives areprovidedin
supportofprojectswhichwillcreateorpreservejobs.Thewhole
oftheNorthernRegionhasbeensodesignated,andWestCumbriais
a"specialdevelopment area",whichislistedbytheDepartment as
anareaaffectedbysteelclosures^consequentlyitattractsassist­
anceatthehighestlevelspermissible .
III.THEUNDERTAKING
YatesCircuitFoilCo.Ltd.isaprivatelimitedliability company
withadministrative officesandfactoryatTheAirfield,Silloth,
Carlisle,Cumbria.>Authorised sharecapitaloffc100,000iswholly
ownedbyYatesIndustries Inc.,U.S.A.,whichisaprincipal
supplierofelectro-deposited copperfoiltoworldmarkets.
YatesCircuitFoilCo.Ltd.hasasubsidiaryofitsown,Circuit
FreightLtd.,asmallhaulagecompany,responsible fortheout­
wardfreighting ofitssaleswithintheU.K.,togetherwiththe
collectionofmaterialsfromsupplierswhere"costsavingscanoccur.
Thecompanyisamanufacturer ofelectro-deposited copperfoil,
sellingitsproducttothe_laminatingindustrywithintheU.K.,
Scandinavia andcurrentlydeveloping salestotheIndiansub­
continent.Themanufacturing cycleiscontinuous,operating 24
hoursperdayeverydayoftheyear.Atpresentthecompany
employs107people ,TheAirfield,Silloth.Thecompany
proposestoconstruct a180,000sq.ft.purpose-built factoryon
asiteadjacenttoitsexistingfreeholdpremiseswhichtogether
withtheacquisition ofadditionalplantandmachinery,will
enabletheexpansion andreplacement/modernisation ofitsexist­
ingproductionfacilities .

-3-
IV.THEPROJECT
Theproposedinvestment programme,totalling acurrentlyestimated
fc9,222mcanroughlybedividedintofourphases.
Thefirstphasecomprisesconversionofanexistingsitebydemolition
ofanexistingseparategeneralwarehouse andacanteen,purchasing
additional adjacentlandandpreparingthewhole.areafortheerection
ofanewpurposedesignedandbuilt,self-contained factorywithnew
andadequateofficeandadministrative facilities.Buildingthis
■factory,landscaping thesurrounding ground,equipingwiththe
necessaryplantandmachinery.Thisphasewillthenbecomplete
withtheinstallation ofproductionplant,machinery andfacilities
equivalent to55%ofthepresentmanufacturing facility(ca.1.1m
kgs.),whichwillcontinueinfullproduction atthisstage.
Thesecondphasewillinvolvetheinstallation ofmanufacturing
facilitiestoincreasethenewfactorycapacityequivalentto
110%ofthepresentproductionunit(1979).
Thethirdphasewillinvolvethesimultaneous runningdownand
transferofallexistingproductionunitstothenewpremises,and
placingthembackintoproduction .Allexistingproductionunits
willbecompletely refurbished andmodernisedtothelatest
specification .Additional newequipmentwillbeaddedatthisstage
whichwilladdafurther9%tothepresent(1979)capacity.
PhasesIandIIcanbeclassedasexpansion andphaseIIIasmodern­
isationandphaseIVasfurtherexpansion.
Presentestimates andprojections indicatethatthewholeinvest­
mentprogrammewouldbecompletedbytheendofNovember1983,with
allocationoffixedcapitaltotheindividual phasesoftheproject
asfollows:
TotalPhaseIPhaseIIPhaseIIIPhaseIV
(1979/80)(1981).(1982/83).,(1983)
tOOO fcOOO tOOO fcOOO
Land 57 57- - ,-
Buildings 2,7832,783 -- -
•1:'-.6,3822,3891,658 2,043 292BuiIchngs 2,7832,783
Plantdnd-,701 -57on
machinery
TotalFixedAssets9,2225,2291,658 2,043 292
V.SOCIALCONSIDERATIONS
Allexisting107employeeswillcontinuetobeemployedduringand
aftertheexpansion andmodernisation .
Anadditional 84jobswillbeprovidedforbytheendofthewhole
programme andthemajorityofthesewillbecreatedbyreasonofthe
firstphase.
./.

Thenumberandtypeofjobsareasfollows:
JobCategory Number
Engineering Supervisor
Engineering Craftsmen
Laboratory Technicians
SkilledOperators2
tlnskiliedWorkers10
11
37
13
Clerical/StorePersons
Production Supervisor
Draughtsman9
1
1
84
Thecompanymakeseveryendeavourtorecruitex-ECSCworkers.
Contactsarebeingorhavebeenestablished withthelocallabour
departments oftheBritishSteelCorporation,theNationalCoal
BoardthroughtheU.K.Government Agency(Department ofLabour).
Traininginallcategoriesofemployeeswillbeinlinewiththe
recommendation oftheEngineering IndustryTrainingBoard.Specific
trainingwillbebasedonthecompany'strainingneedsassessmentof
eachgradeofemployees andspecifictrainingprogrammes aredesigned
toensurethatthecompanyproductismanufactured withahighdegree
ofsafety-qualityandefficiency .
VI.ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
Thetypesofwasteandpotentialpollutantswillbenodifferentthan
fromthepresentplantbutthe.quantities are.estimatedtoincrease
incapacity.Therewillbesolidandliquidwastessuchas:
a)spentactivatedcarboncontaining asmallquantityofacidic
coppersalts,b)sludgefromwatertreatmentplantsintheform
ofanalkalinecopperbearingsemi-solid (approximately 50%water)
andc)wastewater.
Anti-pollution measureswillfollowpresentlineswiththemodification
ofexistingplantand/ortheconstruction ofnewfacilitiestocope
withthequantities sothatthecompanyeitherintotalorinpart
a)dischargewaterwithintheconsentspecification ,asnow
b)re-cyclewaterandre-claimuseablemetals.
Theprecautions envisagedinthecaseoffailurefallintothree
broadclassifications :
1)Regularandfrequentmonitoringoftheoperationofthetreat­
mentsystemsbytestchecksandanalysisofwastedischarge
andemissionsinadditiontoverification ofvolume.

-5-
2)Adequatebackupequipmenttoensureoperationintheevent
offailureatanytimeduringthe24hourcycle.
3)Allareaswhereprocessingofpollutants occurtobe
adequately surrounded bysecondarycatchmentfacilitiesto
avoidaccidentalspillageandseepageintoadjoiningareas.
Contamination riskstopersonnelarefromacid,alkalisolutions,
bothhotandcoldandofvaryingconcentration .'Protection measures
currently usedareconsidered morethanadequatebytheU.K.Govern­
mentAgencyconcerned.Inuseareprotectiveclothing,headgear,eye
glassesandfootwear,andwhereconsidered advantageous (butnot
necessary),breathingapparatus.
VII.MARKET
Thecompanyconsidersthattheinvestmentprojectisjustifiedthrough
theeverincreasingapplication ofcopperfoilinthereplacement of
traditional usesofmoresolidformsofcopperduetocostanddesign
advancement .Inparticular onecanlookatthereplacement in
traditional equipmentdesignswherewiringnetshavebeenreplacedby
aprintedcircuit.Theeverincreasing useofminiaturised electrical
circuitsinthefieldofelectronics andthepotentialapplication of
themicroprocessor willunquestionably dependtoahighdegreeonthe
availability ofsuitablecircuitsproducedfromcopperfoil.
AsfarastheU.K.isconcerned,suchdevelopmentwillbereflected
intheincreaseincapacityinthefieldofindustrial laminates
whichifnotservicedfromtheU.K.willrequireanimportation of
copperfoilfromothersourceareasliketheU.S.A.andJapan.
Thenewoutputwill,inthefirstinstance,befortheU.K.,Scandinavia
andIndiaandwillgenerally,alongwiththeproduction fromsister
plants,competeworldwide.Thecompanybelieves,however,thatthe
demandissohighthatlittleornocompetition takesplacesince
output,fromallmanufacturers worldwide,cannotsatisfydemand.
VIII.FINANCIAL ASPECTS
Thesummaryfinancingplan(1980-1984)ofthecompanyisasfollows :
Requirements
Project:
CapitalExpenditure
WorkingCapitalfcOOO
9,222
1,067Resources fcOOO
RDG 1,768
IRG 150
ECSCLoan 4,500
OwnResources 6,142
Totalprojectcost 10,289
NonPrôject "2,271
12,560 12,560
./.

IX.CONCLUSION
TheCommission considersthat.therequestcomplieswithArticle56(2a)
oftheECSCTreatyandthattheproposedinvestmentiseconomically
sound.Inconsequence theCommission hasapprovedaloantoYates
CircuitFoilCompanyLimitedforitsprojectatSilloth,Cumbria,
NorthernRegion,foramaximumamountoffc4,500,000 0+7,219,602 EUA)
oritsequivalent amount.Interestistobereducedby45,000EUA
peryearforthefirstfiveyearsafterthepaymentorpaymentsofthe
loan.
TheCommissioninvitestheCounciltogiveitsassenttotheforegoing
decision.