THERE was a time when many communities in Scotland had their own traditional "lemonade" factories.
Milngavie had Garvies, Blantyre in Lanarkshire had Robertsons of Springwell - but now one of the last remaining local factories look set to close.
Struthers, based for nearly 100 years in the Renfrewshire village of Lochwinnoch, is expected to close soon, with the loss of up to 30 jobs.
A spokesman for Struthers, which produces Krystal Klear soft drinks, last night refused to confirm widespread reports of its closure. He said: "The situation is still under review and negotiations are taking place."
However, Gordon Gilmour, a local draughtsman, said his daughter, Caroline, had been upset at learning she faced redundancy at the end of the month.
"She was very upset at getting her redundancy letter, " he said. "She wants to stay here and work in the village, but there's nothing left for young people."
For years, Struthers delivered to homes and businesses across Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, and Glasgow. But its fortunes declined and the firm was taken over by Ciborio, an Italian-based company, in the 1990s.
It accelerated a diversion into the bottled water market. But the drive to keep up with current trends does not appear to have been enough to keep the firm afloat.
While villagers concede that "all things must change", they are upset that the last major employer is leaving the village.
Their anger is intensified by rumours that its land is being sold off, like that of Garvies in Milngavie, near Glasgow, to property developers.
On the village's community website, one contributor wrote: "Through the years, they (Struthers) have employed school-leavers who want to get their first taste of work, and kept families together.
"If this (the site) is sold for houses, what will they do then, will Lochwinnoch be a retirement village, with no younger people wanting to come due to the poor transport links?"
Peter Fleming, 74, who worked as a driver for the firm, said: "Lochwinnoch once had anumber of thriving industries - including a silk mill, flagmakers, furniture store and picture houses - but it is fast becoming just another commuter village."
His wife Jean, 74, who was employed by the company for 20years, added: "They're ripping the heart right out of the place and the old Struthers family would be turning in their graves if they could see what has been happening."
William Struthers, 76, is one of the last remaining family members who still lives in the village. Although reluctant to talk about the expected closure, he expressed his "sadness" at the turn of events.
With the exception of AG Barr, maker of Irn Bru, the health of local lemonade factories has been on the decline since television began entering living rooms in the 1950s. The birth of this mass media brought with it aggressive advertising campaigns by companies such as Coca Cola. Yet, if local folklore is to be believed, Struthers fought back in the 1970s.
Sandy Innes, 58, proprietor of the village's Corner Bar, claimed: "They brought out a drink called 'Koala Cola' and they were threatened with court action because the name sounded too similar to that of Coca Cola.
"The family apparently got around it by arguing that the name was based on a tenuous link with a relative in Australia, " he laughed.
Like many others, Mr Innes, born and bred in Lochwinnoch, has fond memories of the factory.
"Iremember vaulting the fence from the football pitch and grabbing the 'leakies'. These were the damaged bottles that the van men gave away." His partner, Morag Wilson, 50, added: "Everyone in the village at one time had a family member who worked there and the company even used to advertise in the local cinemas, so it has been a big part of people's lives." William Dale, 60, worked as a "van boy" for the company when he was just 16. "It was a great way to chat up women, " he said. "At one time you would see 10 Struthers lorries a day driving around, now you're lucky if you see one, " added Mr Dale.
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