From slate to accomodation, hydro and cheese
JW Greaves turned a loss-making quarry into a successful, diversified business by making the most of the 2,000-acre site's unique features
Outside the front door of Plas Weunydd, a family-friendly hotel founded in 2019, stands a block of slate which connects through a business history dating back 200 years. The slate is engraved with the crest of JW Greaves, the company still operating the site today. And the slate was quarried just a few hundred metres away, in the caverns which the company was founded to mine. The slate block, now bearing the name of the hotel, represents how much the business has changed since its incorporation in 1901.
The history of this 2,000-acre site begins in the 1830s. John Whitehead Greaves established the company to quarry the slate found here in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Quarrying continued until the 1990s when new leadership, led by Executive Chairman Alistair Altham and Managing Director Michael Bewick, adopted a new approach to overturn mounting losses.
Diversification has been key to making the most of the site's unique features and returning to profitability. The former quarry provided surprising industrial opportunities. The award-winning Snowdonia Cheese Company matures cheddar in the slate caverns. Three existing reservoirs feed two hydroelectric power stations. Piles of slate spoil are recycled for road aggregate.
There is 50 or 60 tonnes of cheese down there
The landscape has become a tourist and leisure destination. JW Greaves hosts two of North Wales' most exciting outdoor experiences – Zip World Llechwedd and Antur 'Stiniog. Zip World offers a kilometre of zip lines which reach 60 mph, as well as a trampoline park and high ropes course in the slate caverns. On the mountain above, Antur 'Stiniog offers downhill mountain biking where a van transports riders to the top of the hill.
JW Greaves also operates several accommodation options. The Plas Weunydd hotel and restaurant is based in the house formerly home to the quarry owner. Glamping and shepherd's huts provide off-grid options high on the moor. JW Greaves has plans to expand its glamping offer to attract more adventurous families and couples.
Local connection also underpins the business' turnaround. Knowledge of the area and long-standing relationships enabled the collaboration with Snowdonia Cheese Company. Energy generated by the hydroelectric stations supply a project retrofitting cottages built for quarry workers, to ensure they are fit for the 21st century. Antur 'Stiniog is a not-for-profit run by volunteers who, building on the mountain biking success, are buying and renovating properties in the town. Having returned to profitability, the business is giving back to the community too.
