Jute bobbins being lowered into a dyeing vat (pre treatment)

Slide, colour, part of a collection of photographs relating to Sidlaw Industries contained in a blue box. This particular image shows a male worker lowering jute bobbins into a dyeing vat, relating to Tay Carpet Works. This machine shows a carrier of 90 Jute spools (180 - 200Kg) wound onto perforated plastic dyeing tubes or cones, being loaded into or unloaded from an open unpressurised pre-treatment / rinsing vessel. These machines were operated on a mezzanine floor with the pumps, valves etc. The windows looked out into Brown Street, this Dye house building has since been demolished. Initially these machines were installed to replace the old hank dyeing process to produce jute yarns used to weave coloured jute matting and carpets. The new process was very efficient and much less labour intensive than hank dyeing. Jute yarns used to produce furnishing fabrics, bowling green surfaces and garden twine.