Our History

Players Industrial Estate is situated just South of Clydach, between the river Tawe and the path of the old Swansea canal. The canal was completed in 1798, but gradually fell into disuse during the 20th century.

In the late 20th century, large sections were in-filled and covered by roads. Only 5 of the original 16 miles are now in water, this section starts near the North Westerly point of the Players Industrial Estate.

The immediate area has a long history of metal working, including the John Player tinplate works, which prospered on the site in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

During this time, tinplate from the works was transported to Swansea docks, initially by canal barge (later by railway) and from there to the rest of the world.

This picture of Swansea shows the docks in the background with sailing ships both in dock and at sea.

This photograph of Cwm Clydach lock (lock no.5) was taken in 1949 by Ian Wright. At the time, he was undertaking a canoe journey to inspect the canal on behalf of the fledgling Inland Waterways Association.

The present Players Industrial Estate is situated immediately to the right of this picture.

After the decline of the tinplate industry in the early part of the 20th century and eventual closure of the dilapidated. A renaissance began in 1967, when four parcels of land were purchased from a private owner, and a fifth was purchased in 1970 from British rail.

Players Industrial Estate, also known as PIE, consists of these five combined land holdings.

It was named Players Industrial Estate because of the sentiment expressed in the plaque to the left.

As the estate has become better known, other land in the area also informally became known as the Players Industrial Estate.

In the early 1970’s most of the buildings were occupied by engineering manufacturers, some of which also exported their products worldwide. More recently, as reflected in the rest of the country, service-oriented businesses have displaced manufacturing, although some high-quality manufacturing still occurs on the estate.

There has been a process of continuous upgrading and redevelopment of the Players Industrial Estate over the years.

The picture to the right shows our newest building when it was in the construction phase.

Players Industrial Estate has a long history in the Clydach area of Swansea of which we are very proud.

Recently, solar panels have been installed on every building with a suitable roof. These presently supply green electricity at no charge to the tenants.

Our intention is to continue improving the estate and provide high quality services to existing and new tenants.