As posted by The Boston Globe.
There has been speculation about the demise of Polaroid for years now. Between the propaganda or honest belief of it’s leaving the marketplace, it’s never really been backed by anything from the company. Polaroid, of course, doesn’t talk to us much these days. Product discontinuation notices have come in the form of stickers in the past, and as they try to compete in a digital world, while their name is tacked onto crappy TV’s and digital cameras, their film range isn’t what it once was.
But this, it seems, is the end.
Polaroid shutting 2 Mass. facilities, laying off 150
Polaroid Corp., the Massachusetts company that gave the world instant film photography, is shutting down its film manufacturing lines in the state and abandoning the technology that made the company famous.
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“The Norwood plant is shutting down, and we will soon be winding down activities at the Waltham facility as well,” said Kyle MacDonald, senior vice president of Polaroid’s instant photography business segment. The closures, set for completion during this quarter, will eliminate about 150 jobs. In the late 1970s, Polaroid employed about 15,000 in Massachusetts.
The Norwood and Waltham plants make large-format films used by professional photographers and artists. Polaroid also makes professional-grade films in Mexico, and its consumer film packs come from a factory in the Netherlands. All these plants are slated for closure this year. Polaroid chief operating officer Tom Beaudoin said the company is interested in licensing its technology to an outside firm that could manufacture film for faithful Polaroid customers. If that doesn’t happen, Polaroid users would have to find an alternative photo technology, as the company plans to make only enough film to last into next year.
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Seems like the end of an era. No more tacky “Christmas ’94″ photos.
Time to go start buying up stows of film…
It’s interesting to note FujiFilm still produces pack film (peel apart), which you can [buy from megaperls webshop here].