The last ATM run off at the NCR factory took place in Dundee this week with a hand-written epitaph stating 'End of 63 years of manufacturing in NCR Dundee. Last ARM built 20/5/09'.
The first ATM rolled off the production line in the year I was born but in those days NCR was still thought of as a major producer of cash registers. Like Timex, it had a world-wide reputation and employed generations of Dundonians.
The decision to stop production was taken two years ago and the factory has been slowly run down. NCR still has several hundred employees working in research and development in the city but there has also been a question mark over the security of those jobs in recent weeks.
NCR will now be consigned to the history books along with Keillors, the jute mills and the like. Sometimes I wonder if such closures are absolutely necessary, but we live in a world where chasing the money is paramount.
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