Llanelli Reflections

Manufacturing is what Llanelli was all about and it has major world contributions to its name. There are things that we take for granted these days, things we are likely to reply dismissively with a casual "So what?" Things like - the spare wheel, I believe that nowadays some cars don't come with a spare wheel, just an aerosol containing a gooey liquid that both inflates and seals your tyres, temporarily that is. But Llanelli's invention of the spare wheel, specifically the Stepney spare wheel was a huge step forward. And we haven't mentioned the beer can yet! Let me tell you that the Felinfoel brewery, the oldest brewery in Wales, was the first outside the USA to produce its beer in a can. That was in 1931 and just think how many brewers have copied them since then!
There are two big manufacturers in Llanelli today. One is the Trostre tinplate works which is quite important but the major manufacturer is undoubtedly The Scarlets and in case you don't know they are the local rugby club and they manufacture truly world class players - their biggest customer is Warren Gatland and the Welsh Rugby Team!