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The Weaving of Cotton and Allied Textiles in Great Britain: An Industry Survey With Special Reference to the Diffusion of Shuttleless Looms
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 March 2020
Extract
This article arises out of an investigation into the process of the diffusion of new technologies and methods through industry, on which the National Institute has been engaged, with research institutes in six countries overseas, since 1967.
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- Copyright © 1970 National Institute of Economic and Social Research
Footnotes
This article was prepared by R. J. Smith of the National Institute, where the research is being financed by grants from the Treasury and the Ford Foundation; the author would like to express his gratitude to Mr. D. C. Shaw, Director of the Economics and Statistics Department of the Textile Council, Manchester, for providing many of the statistics in the first section; and to the many directors of weaving enterprises who so kindly gave their time and co-operation to the inquiry.
References
(1) The foreign institutes co-operating with the Institute on this project are : (i) Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschafts forschung, Vienna; (ii) Bureau d'Information et de Prévisions Economiques, Paris (this Institute withdrew from the project during 1968); (iii) IFO—Institut für Wirtschafts forschung, Munich; (iv) Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio della Congiuntura, Rome; (v) Industriens Utredningsinstitut, Stockholm; (vi) National Bureau of Economic Research, New York.
(2) G. F. Ray :‘The diffusion of new technology : a study of ten processes in nine industries’, National Institute Economic Review no. 48, May 1969.
(3) ‘Cotton and Allied Textiles’, Textile Council, Man chester, 1969.
(1) The figures referred to here, as predominantly elsewhere in this section, are taken from the Textile Council's Quarterly Statistical Review.
(2) The number of looms in actual operation declined by almost exactly the same proportionate amount.
(3) In comparison with this declining trend of output, con sumption of cotton and allied fabrics in the UK declined only marginally (in terms of area) over the five-year period.
(4) Labour productivity in manufacturing as a whole increased by about 23 per cent over the same period.
(5) Including shuttleless.
(6) This still compares badly with many other Western European countries where the proportion of fully automatic looms is in excess of 85 per cent. See G. F. Ray, op. cit., page 62, table 25.
(7) ‘Cotton and Allied Textiles’, 1969.
(1) Cotton and man-made fibres : piece goods only.
(2) Defined as home production plus imports less exports and re-exports.
(3) The 1969 import share, however, showed a marked down turn to around 50 per cent once again. It is too early to say whether 1969 was a ‘freak’ year, or whether imports will now continue on a lower level.
(4) Imports of made-up man-made fibre goods are small.
(5) In fact the share was higher (35 per cent) in 1968 due to particularly large imports from Austria and Portugal.
(1) It should be noted that these figures, being based on conventional linear measurements, understate the increase in share in area or volume terms. This is due to the fact that, on average, woven man-made fibre and mixture fabric are wider than their cotton counterparts.
(2) This is by no means a new development. A slow but steady reorganisation has been taking place since the war. Cf. Caroline Miles, ‘Lancashire Textiles’, Cambridge University Press, 1968.
(3) The results of this approach were detailed in the shuttle less looms section of the Interim Report referred to above (page 54, footnote (2)).
(4) There are three main types of shuttleless looms (gripper, rapier and air- and water-jet), produced by various manu facturers, as referred to in the text below (for example, Sulzer, Iwer, Draper, etc.). An account of the characteristics of the shuttleless type loom is given in Appendix I.
(1) A part of the shortfall was accounted for by the fact that some firms whose name appeared on the available sampling list had in fact ceased weaving. This applied to one case among those initially approached for a personal interview, and to four cases among those approached by postal questionnaire. A further two firms in the latter category were discovered to be engaged in a line of production to which the application of shuttleless looms was irrelevant.
(2) Textile Council : ‘Cotton and Allied Textiles’, volume I, paragraphs 337 ff.
(1) Although, for a number of firms, greater standardisation was hindered by existing conditions especially, as indicated below, market conditions.
(2) Shuttleless and conventional looms were in more or less equal numbers in this company.
(1) One small producer who was making marginal profits working very labour-intensively on a one-and-a-half shift system made the point that two or three shift working would bring him in a negligible extra net revenue and much extra trouble even if he could get the orders!
(1) This was almost the entire gamut of the Lancashire trade : cotton, man-made fibre and mixture fabrics; plains, fancies, dobbies, twills, for a variety of end uses.
(2) Cf., for example, Financial Times, 18 April 1968; 28 July 1969
(3) The reasons for decisions not to invest further or at all in shuttleless looms are discussed below.
(4) For their versatility.
(5) One was the firm which was expecting to invest further in looms in 1971-72.
(6) More generally, we were told quite directly by one fully integrated firm that the weaving stage accounts for only a small proportion of the total costs of the finished fabric and in many cases greater, or as great, gains can be made in the other stages. For example, finishing often accounts for a greater fraction of the total finished fabric cost and hence a certain percentage saving in the finishing stage is more beneficial than the same percentage saving in the weaving stage. Up to 2d per yard could be saved in finishing by adopting new methods whereas it is virtually impossible to save this much in weaving.
(7) All three were users, in fact.
(1) One firm interviewed, primarily a converting/finishing company, did not consider this question relevant to its parti cular operations and hence did not answer. Where it can buy abroad more cheaply than it can weave itself, it does so, notably from Portugal and Hong Kong. It also purchases from other weaving units in this country, as well as from knitters.
(2) Footnote (b), table 6.
(3) But these assessments, it must be admitted, may do no more than reflect an attitude of conservatism.
(1) By 13 out of 19 users (interviewees and respondents to questionnaires).
(2) The ‘efficiency rate’ is the percentage of the time avail able (with a three-shift system this would be 112½ hours per week) that the machine is actually running. Things that reduce efficiency rates are frequent beam and fabric changes, frequent warp or weft breakages and similar reasons for machine-stops.
(1) Presumably because of its non-economic nature.
(2) As mentioned later, this was a reason commonly given by non-adopters for not thinking in terms of shuttleless looms. British makers-up and converters, by their conservatism in this respect, may be wielding an appreciable influence on the diffusion of shuttleless looms in this country.
(3) In general they were operating with small installations (table 3).
(4) At the selvedges.
(5) Apart from three other firms using these looms for special purposes, see footnote (a), table 1.
(6) Of which, incidentally, only 15 were encountered in the inquiry.
(1) Interviewees and questionnaire respondents.
(2) ‘Cotton and Allied Textiles’, volume I, 1969.
(3) ‘Op. cit., volume I, paragraph 544.
(1) For example, one manager stated he could make as much or more money by investing his capital in building societies or local councils; he remained in business, however, for the occupation and challenge it provided.
(2) Op. cit. volume I, pages 131, ff.
(3) Whilst a good future can to this extent be foreseen for all kinds of shuttleless looms in the UK, it is important to note the challenge which may be presented to them by the new Northrop Sensamatic*. This (British) automatic weaving machine operating on the conventional shuttle* principle, is at present under trial with Courtaulds. Its advantages are that it wastes little yarn, operates at high speed, is more versatile than the shuttleless alternative, and is easy to main tain and operate; despite some disadvantages, the Sensamatic could prove particularly useful to weavers unwilling or unable to afford the Sulzer and who yet require a greater versatility than is available from jet looms. Nor, when weaving single- width fabrics, does the Sensamatic present the problem of the false selvedge.
(4) Op. cit., volume I, paragraph 339.
(5) Op. cit., volume I, paragraphs 325-333.
(6) Op. cit., volume I, paragraph 351.
(7) Thus the present report goes some way towards sup porting the findings of the Interim Report (G. F. Ray, Op. cit., page 64, General assessment), especially as to the effects of imports on the production of those articles that are specially suitable for long runs. A small number of adopters of shuttleless looms, although not as many as expected, had had to make ancillary investments. A number again had suffered from teething troubles, but this was nowhere found to be a major reason discouraging adoption.