It's like taking someone's heart

John Healy, grandson of Harry McEvoy, speaks out after Trafford Park site could close with the loss of 360 jobs

- AMY WALKER

A NORTHERN lad, Harry McEvoy crossed the Atlantic to study business. With big dreams and a knack for closing a deal, he became a salesman for a small, up-and-coming US cereal company in Michigan - run by a man named Will Keith Kellogg.

Harry was an instant success. He quickly rose through the ranks and was soon given a huge task - to return home to the UK and put the company on the map.

By 1938, the Stretford factory he set up was ready to make millions. It would go on to be a Greater Manchester landmark, employing generations of families.

That beloved landmark - once the second-biggest cereal factory in the world - is now at risk. The familiar site of Tony the Tiger at the Trafford Park site, and the distinctive, comforting aroma of Corn Flakes, could soon be no more.

Earlier this week, Kellogg's owner Kellanova announced it is proposing to shut the factory. It would mean the loss of 360 jobs.

Bosses say the site is too old to modernise and that many outbuildings are unused. Consultations are ongoing with workers, who face an uncertain future.

The loss of the Greater Manchester institution managing director Harry set up as the founder of Kellogg's in the UK has hit people hard. One worker told the Manchester Evening News there was a 'sense of betrayal and anger' among staff.

His grandson John Healy told the M.E.N. it was a 'complete surprise.' "I have been following the decline of Kellogg's in recent years," he added.