A company is being sought to take over the Great Lakes plant

Great Lakes Chemical plant announced last autumn that it was no longer profitable in the face of cheaper competition and would be forced to shut with.

The factory has extracted chemicals like bromine - used in the production of petrol - from the Irish Sea for almost 50 years.

But now it cannot compete with Israeli and Jordanian businesses, which can extract bromine and other chemicals more cheaply.

Efforts are now continuing to find another company to take over the site on the north of the island.

As the first workers left their last shift at the plant Brian Macconachie, the Great Lakes site manager said: "We have a very small number of people interested in the site.

"We're evaluating the various options out there for us.

It's the equivalent of 1,000 jobs going in the South Wales Valleys Gareth Winston Roberts

"It's a very good piece of property. It's well-serviced and its location is - while not ideal - not a bad location at all."

But Gareth Winston Roberts, Anglesey Council's Executive Member for Economic Regeneration said the closure was a "mega blow" for the area.

"It's the equivalent of 1,000 jobs going in the South Wales Valleys," he said.

"These are quality jobs, and very few companies on Anglesey offer these wages.

He said the council had set up a special group and was working with the unions and other bodies to see if they can find someone to take over the site.

Compete

But he warned any company which moves here would take up to 18 months to get set up.

The Welsh Assembly Government had offered Great Lakes �1.8m to keep the site open, saying it would have to repay more than �750,000 of grants it has already been given if it closed.

The firm's only other British site is in Manchester.