OUR INDUSTRIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2106, 5 July 1894, Page 10

OUR INDUSTRIES.

xx. M'KINLAY & SON'S BOOT FACTORY.

There are few of our thriving industries of the present day which commenced in a more unpretentious way than that carried' on by Messrs M'Kinlay and Son, boot manufacturers, of Hillside. When Mr R. M'Kinlay, the founder of the firm, arrived in the colony, prepared, as he says, to do anything — as every person landing on thtse shores in those times should have been prepared to do, — he had never handled a piece of leather ; but he was an old acquaintance of Mr Alexander Inglis, by whom the firm of A. and T. Inglis was established, and in the latter' s bootmaking premises he was, with a hand-press as his implement, set to work at the cutting-out of soles. Mr M'Kinlay applied himself with the utmost diligence to mastering the trade, with which he had almost accidentally become associated, and as time passed on he obtained the benefit of the experience that was to be gained through employment in two other factories. Sixteen years ago Mr M'Kinlay became an employer, but not on a large scale. The scullery of his dwelling house was his factory ; his plant consisted of a press, which was worked by the foot, and rollers, which were worked by hand ; and his employees were two men and a boy. This was certainly a modest beginning, but progress was both steady and sure. At that time Mr M'Kinlay 's business was confined to cutting soles and selling them to the shoemakers ; but subsequently its scope was increased owing to the proprietor being entrusted by a trader with the bottoming of some "uppers," and this necessitated an increase in the number of hands employed, a clicker and a machinist haviDg to be added to the list. It was the custom with Mr M'Kinlay to buy from warehouses small quantities of leather, as he required it, and upon his visits to the wholesale establishments he used to bo invited to bring in samples of the work ho executed. He was in such a small way, Mr M'Kinlay was in the habit of replying, chat there was no use his doing that, but some 14 or 15 years ago the occasion of an extension of his business was brought about in a somewhat unusual and a certainly unexpected way. There was at the time in question a dispute in one of the town factories, and a strike was threatened. A few men at that juncture approached Mr M'Kinlay and asked him if he would give them work. He received them into his employment ; with the increased number of hands under him and an expanded output he ventured on submitting his samples to the warehousemen ; and from that time forth he had more work to execute in orders from the wholesale establishments than he could accomplish. Gradually he went on increasing the number of his employees and an enlargement of his premises. i''or four years there was an interruption to his career as an independent boot manufacturer, the old factory ot Messrs Sargood, Son, and Ewen, in Cumberland Btreet, being placed under his charge for that period.; bub the change did not effect his employees, for he took them and his plant with him. Ten years ago that arrangement cams to an end, and Mr M'Kinlay returned to his old premises at Hillbide. On three different occasions the pressure of space necessitated the enlargement of the factory, the last addition that was made being the conversion of tho dining room at the Exhibition of 1889-90— Mr M'Kinley having purchased that portion of the Exhibition buildings on their being submitted to the public for sale— into clicking, machinery, "rough stuff," and store rooms. At the present time Mr fll'Kiulay has in his employment about 100 hands, and an inspection of the factory cannot but leave upon a visitor a very favourable impression regarding the conditions under which the operatives are engaged at their work. The rooms are uncommonly lofty, but are neither cold nor draughty, the comfort of the workpeople beipg studied in the fact that gas stoves are provided, and the ventilation is admirable, the atmosphere throughout the building being as pure as could be desired. It is no matter of surprise, therefore, that the successive factory inspectors who have visited the establishment should be unanimous in declaring that those engaged in the factory ought to be healthy. The plant is a complete one for performing all the operations — from the cutting of the leather to the finishing of the article — connected with the manufacture of boots and Bhoes. Large as is the number of persons at present employed by Messrs M'Kinlay and Son, it is not nearly so large as it was 18 months or two years ago, when the value of the firm's output reached the exceedingly substantial sum of £2000 a month. Since then increased competition and increased importation of the cheaper class of boots and shoes have necessitated a reduction in the number of hands engaged in the factory. The firm's goods are all branded with tho " arrow " brand, which is in the trade recognised as implying good and honest work.