It was planned as a permanent ROF with the intention that, unlike some other similar facilities, it would remain open for production after the end of World War II.
[1] In the late 1930s leading up to the outbreak of war in 1939, the British government developed a strategy to disperse armaments and munitions production away from major cities and the southeast part of England which were felt to be especially vulnerable to bombing from the air.
The site was built with extensive underground magazines, comprehensive lightning protection and individual buildings linked by paths, roads and railways.
This rail link enabled the three-times daily movement of up to 13,000 workers in and out of the site as well as the receipt of raw materials and components and the despatch of finished munitions.
So, near Glascoed, the local Folly Tower on a hill top at nearby Pontypool was seen as an aiming-off point for the Luftwaffe to attack the ROF factory.
On 31 October 1940, a worker was killed and several injured by a lone Heinkel He111P bomber which dropped 12 bombs in daylight but only caused minor damage to the factory.
Post-war debriefing records show that the bomber's crew were convinced they had bombed Filton aerodrome in Bristol, some forty miles (65 km) away.
After the war, ROF Glascoed expanded its services to include manufacturing concrete building products and by scrapping surplus munitions.
With the closure of other ROFs, Glascoed remains the only ammunition filling facility in the UK and exports its products, as well as supplying the British Ministry of Defence (MoD).
[4] On the 20 August 2008 the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) announced a 15 year £2bn contract with BAE Systems to supply British forces with medium calibre and small arms ammunition.