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120 years of tweed -
John Hartley Cowling Ltd
1982 Brochure.
Supplied by:
Moonrakers. Scanned By Cowlingweb
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The story
behind our 120
years experience
Many great
enterprises
start up in a
small way and
this was the
case when in the
winter of
1861/62 John
Hartley, then a
25 year old
apprentice
overlooker in
the Yorkshire
woollen
industry,
established a
commission
weaving firm
with financial
aid from his
then employer
and mentor Henry
King.
Tough going at
first, but
Hartley had two
maxims from
which he never
deviated-quality
and economy; and
by 1873 he had
carved a niche
in the
market place
against the
formidable
competition of
what was then
the World's
greatest, indeed
its only textile
industry.
At that stage
the firm was
sufficiently
solvent to
purchase Acre
Field, a site
of, as is shown
in the original
deeds, 3 acres,
2 roods and 5
perches.
According to the
nominal ledger
of that year
this land was
acquired for a
total cost of
£2890.13s.1d., a
sizeable sum in
those days.
Building of what
is today the
Company's
40,000sq.ft.
manufacturing
complex began in
1880 with the
completion of a
three bay
weaving shed,
mill
engine room and
boiler house,
and by 1890 the
factory housed
no less than 300
looms
specialising in
the manufacture
o f curtains,
drapes,
furnishing
fabrics, but
additionally a
wool/cotton
suiting
specifically for
the growing
South American
market. |
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From our
founder to the
presents
In 1911 John
Hartley
(Cowling) Ltd
was incorporated
as a limited
company and
Watson Hartley,
son of the
founder, was
appointed to the
Board.
Anxious to
consolidate his
position and
import
additional
expertise Watson
Hartley invited
James Bailey, a
prominent local
textile
technician to
join
the Board.
Business
continued apace
with the
Company's
foundations
being
strengthened by
the marriage of
James Bailey's
son Frank to
Watson
Hartley's
daughter.
Despite wartime
privations,
under Frank
Bailey the
company
continued to
prosper, not
only handling a
sizeable share
of the U.K.
curtain market
but establishing
itself as the
principal
employer in the
village of
Cowling.
In 1953 Frank
Bailey's son
John joined the
company and
subsequently the
Board, becoming
Managing
Director in
1966, a position
he still
occupies, being
joined in 1970
by George
Sainsbury whose
many years
experience in
furnishing
fabric design
played a large
part in the
consolidation of
the Company's
present
position.
Well knowing
that he must now
face a totally
changed business
environment John
Bailey committed
considerable
sums to capital
expenditure; old
machinery was
scrapped and
replaced with
new, and being
cognizant of the
changing market
place the
Company began to
specialise in
tweed
upholstery
fabrics for the
office and
contract trade.
Numerous and
valuable links
were forged with
the country's
top seating
upholsterers and
manufacturers.
Prestige and
lucrative
business
followed and
John Hartley
(Cowling) Ltd,
has now been
joined by
Michael Bailey,
an accountant
whose several
years experience
were gained with
one of the
leading
International
firms of
Chartered
Accountants. He
is the fifth
generation of
the Company
which now leads
the market in
high quality
upholstery
tweeds. |
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John Hartley
(Cowling) today
Old maxims die
hard, preferably
not at all, so
quality and
economy are the
standards 6y
which all our
activities
continue to be
judged.
The factory is
equipped with
the very latest
plant and
machinery and
Rapier
shuttleless
looms are
employed
throughout.
these are
capable of
weaving fabrics
from lightweight
drapes to, for
example, our
Grampian range
-a heavy,
flat-woven tweed
upholstery in
100% virgin
wool.
Shuttleless
looms are more
productive than
the traditional
type and
currently
manufacturing
capacities
exceed 30,000
metres per week.
ln addition much
has been
achieved by the
latest
generation of
textile machines
in rendering the
working
environment both
safe and
ergonomically
desirable.
Quality in the
products we
make; and
economy, because
our policy is to
re-invest our
profits and so
take advantage
of the very best
and most
efficient
manufacturing
techniques. |
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Page 4 & 5
(Middle Double
Page Spread) |
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The Latest
Hartley
collection -
from hard
wearing Oxford
through soft but
resilient
Cumbria to the
sheer luxury of
our Grampian
range.
A close up
look at our
tweeds
Office and
contract seating
fabrics are
designed with
many criteria in
mind. They must
be pleasant and
colourful, they
must exude an
air of quality
at any price
level, they must
be safe and fire
retardant, more
than anything
else though they
must last, often
in conditions
far harder than
those to
which domestic
fabrics are
subject.
For this reason
all our ranges
are rub tested
far in excess of
the
specifications
we lay down.
Durability
values quoted on
our shade cards
are
therefore not
maxima but
minima.
Flame retardancy
is vital and
John Hartley
tweeds, either
wool or blend,
meet the high
standards
required both in
the United
States and the
U.K. |
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Whatever your
requirements we
have the tweed
you need
The next time
you're waiting
in an airport
lounge, relaxing
in a hotel
foyer, or dining
on board a
cruise ship,
take a look at
what you're
sitting on:
chances are it's
one of our
fabrics.
Whatever the
application the
requirements are
the
same-quality,
adaptability and
sheer
durability-and
Hartley fabrics
meet them.
In the
boardrooms and
offices of the
major commercial
centres of the
World, in the
day to day
humdrum of
reception and
typing pool
we're there.
We're there
because whatever
the requirement
we have a cloth
to suit it. Not
one for which
you need wait
months, but a
cloth in current
manufacture and
in almost any
colourway.
The advantages?
Well they go
without saying.
You can specify
with complete
confidence in
the full
knowledge that
your
requirements
will be met. |
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Crendon for
example, a 50/50
wool blend
fabric. It is
inherently flame
retardant to
BS5852/FR10
Standard 5 and
DOE PSA
specification
FR3; it is
available in a
total of 20
colourways - a
good, durable
and safe product
in literally any
colour you need.
Or Cumbria, a
rich, heavy
Berber fabric;
it
handles like the
purest wool and
yet because
Cumbria is a
clever blend of
wool and viscose
it is immensely
durable, rub
tested in excess
of 70,000
and extremely
competitively
priced.
Grampian heads
the John Hartley
range; an all
wool berber- the
king of fabrics,
and we're glad
to say specified
for quite a
number of kings
of
industry and
commerce. |
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Now you know
a little bit
about us let's
see what we can
do for you
It's strange to
reflect that old
established
companies often
believe in old
fashioned
business values,
like quality,
service and the
fundamental
importance of
their customers.
when that sort
of thinking goes
hand in hand
with the very
latest
production
techniques and
forward looking
management then
you the customer
truly have the
best of both
worlds.
An extravagant
claim? We don't
think so and we
don't make it
lightly because
reputations that
have taken 120
years to build
can be destroyed
in
moments by
disappointed
customer.
Now you know
about us, please
get in touch;
whether your
seating project
is immediate or
sometime in the
future we can
supply shade
cards of
every fabric
showing every
colourway. We
will be
delighted to
prepare
quotations and
give ad vice for
any of your
requirements.
For your part
you will know
that you're
dealing with an
organisation
that has not
only operated
for 120 years
but done so
successfully. |
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John Hartley
(Cowling) Ltd.
Acre Shed,
Keighley,
Yorkshire
Telephone (0535)
33235 Telex
517652 |
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