Iain Napier & David Hamilton
2003/49, Iain Napier and David Hamilton interviewed in Edinburgh by Sarah Bromage on 12/8/2002
000 Greig’s guillotining factory. People in mill, apprentices. Man going to fix drying machine who got in and couldn’t get out. Left him in the drying machine over lunch.
046 A lot of people got in drying cylinder and couldn’t get out. Foundation of Golden Wonder crisps, growth of snack industry from Dalry
083 Engineers got tool money. No money to train. To be promoted was basically dead man shoes. Trained the person below you.
097 First stop was machine cleaner, then first assistant, then dryer man, machine man, foreman. Pay structure: if someone did not come in would share their pay.
112 Weekend it was difficult to get people. Would stay in and work to get extra pay. Running of machines. Maintenance during trades week. Engineers had different holidays. Holiday times.
143 Treatment of esparto grass. Smell of esparto grass. Esparto wax used to make carbon paper and shoe polish.
175 Printers bought paper in advance. Paper in stock, liked to condition paper. People would plan ahead.
195 Would sort out returns. Firms Mr Napier worked in. Soap flakes to wash machine felts. Technology in the industry moved fast. Kinleith did not invest in this new technology.
227 Money made at Kinleith was used to invest in buying other mills. Did not invest in graduates. Rare to go to University
240 End.