Operation Spinning Frames

There has been a huge buzz of excitement and anticipation surrounding our Mill and nothing seems to have captured imaginations more than what’s happening on the third floor – the assembly of our spinning frames.

As the only mill set to spin cotton in this country for 30 years, the sheer scale and volume of this high-tech operation is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And it’s leaving everyone who sees it in awe.

A little over a month ago, the third floor had been cleaned and painted in preparation for the build and back then it was hard to believe the five spinning frames would each span the entire length of the 55m space.

And then the deliveries started to come. Lorry loads of boxes rolled into the gates at Tower Mill quicker than we could get them into the lifts (and in some cases craned and winched through windows) up to the third floor. Pretty soon it was full to the rafters and although each package was numbered and referenced, it was difficult to envisage how the end result would be achieved.

Over the next several weeks, engineers from the frames’ manufacturers Saurer Zinser worked alongside our own technicians, the people who will be spinning cotton in the months to come, to put it all together. At first, progress was slow but then it really picked up pace and now the third floor looks even more impressive every day.

It is difficult to convey through pictures the size of these frames, but this video clip gives you a better idea of just how long they actually are.

https://vimeo.com/166181560

There is still another few weeks before all five machines will be completed, and it will be another couple of months before they will be spinning cotton, but if it looks this good now, we just can’t wait to see how great it will look when it’s all ready to go!