VIDEO: We Are Spinning Cotton

It’s what we’ve all been waiting for – spinning the first cotton at Tower Mill for more than 50 years.

The first completed spinning frame was switched on and put to the test in the first trial, officially making us the only cotton spinner in the UK.

Divisional manager, Paul Storah, said everything was operating smoothly. He added: “It looks great and it’s going well, but there was never any doubt!”

Soon-to-be cotton spinning manager, Manhar Agraval, said the excitement of the day doesn’t mean he and the rest of the team building the spinning frames can relax.

He said: “It’s fantastic – the machines are amazing and it’s really good to see. There are still four frames to finish though, and much hard work to do.”

As part of the trials and commissioning of the frames, each of the 1200 spindles have to be tested.

In this video, you can see how the cotton is spun into yarn on to the spindles, which are then removed by the automatic doffer – a process that 30 years ago was seen as a major time constraint.

https://vimeo.com/175611137