by rayd » Wed Oct 05, 2011 12:24 am
Xanadu...once upon a time, in my general area anyway, one could visit all kinds of places and manufacturing facilities. I don't mean some ride thru thing like in Disney Land, I mean...old Hershey's, various breweries, taffy factories, bakeries...big ones, Mr. Peanut, Dept.Stores, telephone switchboards, a power plant, gee, you name it almost...of course, on several of these, you had to be associated with a group, or an in-house tour group sometimes for a nominal fee, and pix taking was not allowed.
I think such days are pretty much over now here though due to several reasons: liability, extra personel needed, sometimes concerns over industrial espionage/pix taken without permission, unruly children, higher insurance, and...let's face it, so many less places today of manufacturing and potential terrorism do not encourage visitations en masse anymore. Also, sometimes marketing studies would indicate a minimal ROI.
Places still so inclined might opt for small visitations by familiar people. Its possible to make a promo film short with a narrating tourguide to selectivly point out highlights to showcase a facility. Put it on dvd, and make it available free or at nominal charge. Sensitive areas should be avoided. With eg Guillows, some pix of flying models would be good and a walk thru of a museum like area decorated with model planes, new and old.