Paignton STC's giant employment legacy

Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd (STC), located on Brixham Road in Paignton, became one of the largest employers in Torbay’s history.

Local history expert Graham Wheatley has once again delved into a fascinating chapter of Torbay’s past, sharing his findings with the historical Facebook group Undiscovered Torbay. This time, Graham turned his attention to the mid-20th century, sparking significant interest by recounting the history of STC, a former British manufacturer of telephones, telegraphs, radios, telecommunications, and related equipment.

According to Graham, construction began in late 1954 on 46 acres of meadowland alongside Brixham Road to establish an engineering and electrical component factory. 

This development also included building new houses for employees, which were constructed in the Foxhole and White Rock areas.

The transfer to the newly completed factory buildings by Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd (STC) began in September 1956. 

By 1961, approximately 2,000 people were employed across the STC sites in Paignton.

In 1991, STC was acquired by the Canadian company Northern Telecom, which later rebranded as Nortel in 1998. 

Over time, the STC site on Brixham Road grew to include 17 buildings and outbuildings, covering nearly 300,000 square feet of office and cleanroom space. 

It also boasted over 1,000 parking spaces, accommodating a workforce that once exceeded 5,000 employees.

However, following widespread redundancies around the turn of the millennium, the site was taken over by Bookham Technology—a fibre optics company—operating on a much smaller scale. 

Bookham eventually closed the facility in November 2006, and demolition of the site began in 2011.

Many people commented on Graham’s post with fond memories of when they or their family members were employed by the company.

Niki Hopkins said: “Myself and my dad both worked for STC/ITT (70s and 80s). When I was a kid, they used to put on an amazing Christmas party for the children. We were allowed to leave work early on Xmas Eve, and the whole factory would head up to the club for Xmas drinks.”

Theresa Stratton said: “I worked there from 1985 until 1992. I met my husband there! Good times!”

Sean Hallett reflected: “Paignton’s lung, a big loss to the town. I never worked there myself, but I knew so many that did, and I was asked if I wanted to more than once by people I knew, and it helped to keep local wages high because other employers had to pay reasonable amounts to retain their staff.”