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Centenarian chews over time at Wrigley's factory

Cameron Weldon
BBC News, South West
BBC A birthday celebration in a conference room. An elderly man is seated at a table with a large rectangular cake in front of them with the words "Happy 100th Birthday" on it. The man is holding a card and looking directly at the camera.BBC
Tom Coverley worked at the factory in Plymouth between 1975 and 1987

A man from Devon has returned to the chewing gum factory where he used to work as part of his celebrating his 100th birthday.

Tom Coverley, from Plymstock, worked at the Wrigley factory on the outskirts of Plymouth for 12 years between 1975 and 1987.

Mr Coverley turned 100 on Sunday and used to work as a sugar-wrapping machine mechanic, looking after 18 machines.

The company said he was "fondly remembered for his curiosity, craftsmanship, and community spirit."

There are two men seated at a table in a meeting room. The man on the left is an elderly gentleman while the man on the right is in work uniform. The pair are both smiling and looking at one each other. There is boxes in front of them on the table with barcodes on them.
Mr Coverley, here with Mars Wrigley plant manager Adrian Grochowski, said he received "a free box of chewing gum every month" but he was not interested in it

Mr Coverley was invited back to the factory by the company for a tour and was presented with a cake and presents.

He and his family spoke with staff and he was shown pictures and products from when he worked there.

He was also shown a video of what the company looks like today.

Mr Coverley said he "really enjoyed" returning and being able to see how everything has changed and "improved".

He said that, prior to working at the factory, he helped build Lancaster bombers during World War Two and was in the Army.

Speaking of his time at the Plymouth factory, he said: "I liked the job.

"I used to work on the four-piece machines, which produced chewing gum pellets in small packets."

But he said the firm started stated phasing them out just before he retired so they could concentrate "on larger 10-piece packets".

Site legacy

Plant manager at Mars Wrigley Plymouth Adrian Grochowski said it was a "special day".

He said when Mr Coverley was retiring, he was just a year old, so I "didn't have a clue" what it was like there then.

"This site has a massive legacy," he said.

He added: "A lot of people have worked here for many years and having this kind of guest got a lot of notice, and everyone has been talking about the visit".

Wrigley became part of the Mars group in 2008.

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