BRUCE WOOLLEN MILLS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2509, 16 April 1902, Page 11

BRUCE WOOLLEN MILLS.

THE NEW BUILDINGS. j It is now close on a year since the Bruce Woollen Mills, at Milton, were totally de- ' fctroyed by fire, and the serious loss of j £24,000 sustained. The fire occurred early J on the morning "f Sunday, the 28th April, and broke out in the south-west corner of the building, which was speedily reduced to nothing but bare walls. For many months no movement was made in the direction of reinstating the building and once more resuming business ; but some time since the J wort of reconstruction was entrusted to Mr I Jas. Hislop, of Dunedin, who prepared plans for a building on a somewhat more extended scale than the old one. The present building — for it is now an accomplished fact — cannot be said to be. exactly new, as it is the old one, to a large extent, reinstated, but with many important improvements and additions. The building luis been remodelled, and has had added to it necessaries which it had not before. Notable among the?c is a complete water supply throughout the entire building, and every department has been shut off with double iron doors, so that in the event of a similar misfortune to that which overtook the company in April last a fire might at least be confined within tmall space, with every prospect of it being subdued with comparative ease. The engine room has beeu heightened and strengthened, and fitted with an overhead crane, by which an immense amount of labour in the way of lifting will be saved, and the work in the engine room reduced to a minimum. The matter of drainage has also received attention, a complete f-et of 'drains having been put in and fitted at their intersections with inspection chambers and thoroughly trapped, thus preventing the return of any smell to the interior of the premises. The entire area of the present buildings is approximately 212 ft by 160 ft; and apart from this there is an engineer's shop about 36ft by 22ft. The building, as now finished, comprises a worsted house 200 ft j by 28ft, a main shed, or the factory portion of the building. 20Cft by 72ft. The carding room is 23ft by 78ft, and the wool-sorting and prepared wool room occupies a space of 72ft by 28ft. The wool-scouring room take» up a space in the building of 38ft by 16ft, and the finishing room is 72ft by 28ft. The engine room is 45ft 6in by 25ft, with a driving space of 7ft by 52ft long; and the boiler hou«e is 45ft bin by 21ft 6in. The dypmg hou<-e covers an area of 23ft by 43ft, and the .stuff house is 38ft long by 12ft wide. The willey house is 48ft by 24ft. Opening off the factory is the dining room, which is 16ft square, and off this, again is a cloak room, with an external exit to the outside. The dining room, it may be mentioned, is necessary under the provisions of tho act. as it is compulsory that all the hands should be excluded from tlte building proper out of working hours. Going ficm the cloak room towards tho south there is" another building, altogether separate, for repairs, and this is 32ft by 16ft. In the factory portion of the building is a cosily fitted up office for the manager, with glass sashes so arranged that he has a complete supervision of the whole building. Adjoining the office is a substantially-built strongroom. 13ft 4in by 7Xt. which oucns in,to the

genera! office, 13ft 4in by 12ft. The office ' it> fitted up with all the necessary counter and desks, and outside the counters is a pas- i sago 4ft wide leading to a telephone room. This passage also gives admittance to the private office and tho directors' room, which is 12ft by 14ft. The height from the floor to the beam is 14ft, and the roofs are constructed on the saw principle, and tho lighting is done from the south. Many of the windows are fitted to open for the sake of ventilation, this being an addition to a very jjerfect system of ventilation adopted in the roofs by means of ventilators in the ridge. The building has been heightened throughcut, and where there were no parapets previously these have been put in, and in the case of those previously in existence they l;ave been raised. Most of the floors have been laid 'in concrete, where they were pre\iously of wood, and the drainage from the wool-scouring and dyeing houses is covered with an iron grating, and is led into the inspection chambers, so that if anything goes wrong with the drainage it is ca«ily attended to and put righi. It is readily seen that the planning of the new building has been well and thoroughly thought out, and that nothing, even to the minutest detail, has been overlooked. The great bulk of the work has been carried out on the day wages principle, with the exception of the. plumbing and painting. The plumbing work was executed by Mr King, and the painting by Mr W. Taylor, both of Milton, and both have carried out their contracts in a thoroughly workmanlike manner. The inspector for the work wa3 Mr J. E. White, of the North-East Valley. As before indicated, the architect for the building wap Mr James Hislop, of Dunedin, who has designed the whole of the reconstruction, [ additions, and improvements, and the work has been carried out under his immediate supervision. That all concerned in the reconstruction of the mills^v have well and faithfully performed all that was required of them the present condition of the building amply proves, everything being thoroughly up-to-date-, and the mill being regarded by those who have a knowledge of such" matters as one of the best arranged in the colony. I The engines used previously have been renewed and repaired, and are in as good order as they ever were. The boilers, which are hy Babcock and Wilcox, were not injured by the fire, but r*iey have nevertheless been subjected to a thorough overhaul. A trial was made with the engines and boilers on Monday, and everything worked most satisfactorily. Coming to the other machinery used in the manufacture of the company's goods, in the wool-scouring house there is fitted one of M'Naughfs latest makes of machine?", fixed to the front of the old machinp. This will be used in the process of scouring, and will bo supplemented with a wool-drying machine. In the dyehouse are fitted six wooden vats for dyeing in various colours, and there is also here a yarn-?couring machine, by G. Burns aid. Son, cf Galashiela, together with a 48in hydro for wool and yarn-drying. .by Watson and Laidlaw, of Glasgow. The teasing house equipment has been added to by the introduction of a garnett, by J. Sykcs and Son, of Huddersfield. la ihe main building are placed two 1 sets of cprding engines, by Platt Bros., of Oldliam, whose jaaxam i* «mit.e sufficient

guarantee as to quality. Along with them if, one pair of muies of £000 spindle?, by Brooks and Doxey, of Manchester, and also one mule of 275 spindles, by Tatham. In the same room are twisting and winding machines, by J. Sykes and Son, and also a warp mill, by G. Burns and Son. In tho fame department arc 14 looms of the latest make, by Hattersby and Keighley, and a pattern loom by G. Burns and Son. In the finishing room are scouring and milling machines, and a pair of fast running stocks, together with the various machinea_ required for finishing cloth in any way required. There is also here a cloth tcntering machine for drying all widths of cloth. The warehouse has not .been, neglected either, and is fitted with all the machines necessary for measuring, rolling, anil packing finished goods. From this it will be seen that the plant is a most complete one, and that the company ar<* in an excellent position to cope with any orders that may come to hand. Put briefly, tho Bruce Woollen Manufacturing Company have now every facility, both as regards accommodation and plant, to ensure the turn-out of a first-class article. It is anticipated that the mill will be running in about mx weeks from now.