The Citizen, 1994-09-21, Page 17THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1994. PAGE 17.1
Producing quality wool and leather requires skill, hard work
Wool pulling is at the heart of the processing operation. Here (left to right) Brian
Westburg, Craig Snell, Richard Snell Jr. and Ken Stewart remove the wool from
the sheepskins.
Bonnie Cronyn and Paul Pierce work
at toggling the leather.
While the retail outlet for
Bainton's Old Mill is the
most visible part of the
family operation, it is the tannery
just southeast of Blyth on Hullett
Township Sideroad 20-21 where
the tradition of quality begins.
Here the now-rare art of wool
Kenneth Stewart, plant foreman, has been an
employee of Bainton Ltd. since 1976.
pulling is practiced. Lambskins
come to Blyth from dealers all
across North America. In the
processing, they are put in large
vats of water. They are paddled to
work the skins and to take out the
salt used for curing. They are now
taken out of the vats and painted
on the flesh side with a depilatory
solution mixed to the consistency
of paint. This solution loosens the
root of the wool leaving it free to be
taken off the skins. Wool pullers
are trained to grade the wool as it
is taken off the skins. There are
many grades of wool, each used for
a specific type of fabric.
In the scouring process, wools
are run through a solution of water
and detergent, being agitated and
fed through rubber rolls which act
as wringers. Finally they
are rinsed in clear water,
coming out bright and
fluffy, desirable to the
trade.
After scouring, the wool is
run through an automatic
dryer from which it
emerges dry in five
minutes. From there the
wool is put through a
picker and baled into large
bales weighing 200-300
pounds each. These wools
are then shipped to the
mills where a considerable
portion is manufactured
into 100 per cent pure wool
blankets of all sizes, socks,
etc. which are returned for
sale at Bainton's Old Mill
retail outlet.
As well as pulled wool, Bainton
Limited also purchases sheared
wool from farmers and puts it
through the same process as the
pulled wools.
After the wool has been taken off,
the skins are put in large revolving
drums where all the remaining
wool, surf, etc. is removed. When
this process is completed, the skins
are placed in a pickling solution
much
imp-
overnight, then taken out of the
drum and piled up to drain. They
are tanned, coloured, finished and
toggled. This process from raw skin
to finished leather, will take a
minimum of three weeks.
The leathers are graded in the
Bainton Limited warehouse for
their special purposes and shipped
to various factories to be made into
finished products for Bainton’s Old
Mill factory outlet. The leather may
retail at the store as everything
from soft chamois to garments,
gloves, mitts, chaps, handbags and
mocassins.
The wool pulling process made
a huge step forward in
automation in 1976 when
Franklin Bainton purchased
machinery which eliminates
of the hand processing and
roved the
level of pro
duction at the
plant. The
new equip
ment was
installed in
1977 and is
still in oper
ation. Today
there is a stall
of 12 involved
in Bainton’s
wool pulling
and tanning
operations at
the plant in
Hullett
Township. 0
Franklin Snell grades leather at the
Bainton Limited warehouse.
Franklin Bainton stands outside the plant in a photo from 1990.
The modern plant was built in 1979 in Hullett township, near the
plant that was first built after the move from Blyth in 1963. New
equipment helped reduce the amount of hand processing
required.
Jeffrey Nesbitt operates a fork lift with a pile of pickled
sheepskins.
Bainton's employee Ken Johnston
operates the wool dryer.
Richard Snell Jr. has been a leather technician with
Bain ton Ltd. since 1990.