Menu
 
Home | News | Jobs at risk at mill after orders dry up
 
News | 23rd April 2020
 

Jobs at risk at mill after orders dry up

 
 
Robbie Trussler of Drove Weaving Ltd
 

MOST of the 16 employees at Drove Weaving in Langholm are at risk of redundancy, it has been revealed.

Lochcarron of Scotland has announced that Drove Weaving will enter into a period of consultation to consider the cessation of all production at the mill.

The proposal under consideration means most of the staff are at risk should the business be unable to find a solution to the current situation.

Trading has become increasingly difficult and the current global situation relating to coronavirus has only exacerbated this.

In an attempt to avoid compulsory redundancies the management is willing to consider any viable options which may help.

Drove Weaving is a division of Lochcarron and manufacturers for the Selkirk company.

It also undertakes commission weaving for a number of UK textile brands.

Some have their own manufacturing base and use Drove for specialist projects or when they need increased capacity. Others are manufacturers without looms.

A spokesman for Lochcarron said: “The commission work has been reducing steadily over time and in the current circumstances there are indications that it is unlikely to recover for some considerable time.

“Lochcarron has been able to support weaving at Drove through a range of qualities, woven specifically there and by sharing other work which would normally have been undertaken in our Selkirk mill.

“Recent investment in new machinery in Selkirk has helped increase capacity to manage what had been growing demand but, with the global downturn, it is experiencing a dramatic reduction in demand and, as a consequence, has excess capacity.

“We don’t see a return to anything like sufficient work to maintain Drove Weaving either from Lochcarron or external customers for some considerable time.

“We are taking up schemes such as furloughing and applying for government loans for the whole business.

“Drove has provided weaving for many companies for more than four decades and it is regrettable that circumstances beyond anyone’s control have led to this situation.

“The management team will work with both staff and interested parties should any other viable solutions become apparent.”

Robbie Trussler and his wife, Sheila, founded the company in Drove Road more than four decades ago and Robbie still manages it.

He said: “When Lochcarron took us over about 18 years ago, it was our main customer.

“We had hit bad times and Lochcarron said it would like to take us on because it wanted to expand its business into fashion items and we had a skilled workforce.”

He said the current downturn happened very quickly, adding: “There will be staff to be made redundant whatever happens but, numbers-wise, I wouldn’t like to say how many.

“There is work there but customers started cancelling within the past few weeks.

“They didn’t want finished cloth and the factories they were working with in France and Italy were all shut. Everything just stopped.

“We had not been as busy but we were always up to our budget. Lochcarron has a big production unit and the work was not there to help us.

“Our customers include tailors in London and we have a company in Ireland and we do all the weaving for him but he’s not getting any tourists.”

Drove also weaves swatches for fashion designers to take to customers at the big shows in France and Italy and all over the world but everything has been cancelled.

Robbie said: “We’ve been involved with a fair few companies, including Kynoch (the design division of Reid & Taylor), so there will be more than just us suffering.”

He added: “It’s not the way I wanted to go out of textiles; one of the thoughts was to mothball the business. It’s not as though the workers are going get work elsewhere, sadly.

“Everyone is in the same boat. We hope to hang on in there and have a semblance of a company at the end of it all but nothing will be the same as it has been.

“Even if we’re resurrected in some fashion, it will not be in the same state. But I’m open to carrying on.”

In a joint-statement Dumfriesshire MP David Mundell and MSP Oliver Mundell said: “This news comes at the worst possible time for the individuals and families concerned and is a further blow to Langholm. 

“Sadly, the decision is a reflection of the difficulties in the textile industry which has been badly hit by a drop in demand as a result of COVID-19 and there seems little prospect of keeping Drove Weaving operating in its current form at this time.

“There is no doubt this makes the ongoing economic regeneration work in the town even more important and we stand ready to support those efforts in any way we can and would encourage any employees to get in touch directly if they are looking for help or advice.”

 
 
Would you like to support us?

The Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser is our community owned local newspaper and even in today’s troubled times, we aim to bring you local news and articles in an impartial, responsible and factual way.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this free article but we need your support so we can keep delivering quality journalism that’s open and independent and keeps you up to date with what is happening in Eskdale and Liddesdale.

Every reader’s contribution, however big or small, is so valuable to us.
 
 
‘Owned by the Community...Published for the Community’
Do you have a story?

Please get in touch if you have a story or article you would like to see published.

Related Articles

Will Center Parc’s Hawick plans affect Irvine House?

Buccleuch assures the E&L that they are fully committed to…

 

Castleholm is officially in community hands

Landmark deal sees cherished land transferred to the people of…

 

Hope Hospital shines in Excellence in Care inspection

The Thomas Hope hospital in Langholm recently had a six-month…

 

Emergency services rescue woman from chilly River Esk

Firefighters from Langholm, Annan, Dumfries and Gala required as water…

 

Disappointment with LINK’S response to cash worries

Cash machine company not a lot of help in finding…

 

Holiday village plans for Irvine House and grounds

Buccleuch’s vision for up to 150 lodges couldbenefit Langholm businesses…

 

Town loses out on funding due to mis-reported population

Discrepancy between census statistics andBorderlands figures has cost Langholm dear…

 

Banking possibilities under investigation

After announced closure of Bank of Scotland,solutions including a Post…

 

All kinds of everything at the 172nd Langholm Show

MAIRI TELFORD JAMMEH reports on Langholm’s Rural Highlight in an 8-Page Supplement…

 

15 nights road closure for A7 improvements

Overnight works to resurface road south of Canonbie will run…

 

Signage, speed limit, flooding and potholes

An update from the A7 Action Group’s meeting The A7…

 

Bank of Scotland to close Langholm branch

As High Street loses its last remaining bank,residents are saying…

 

Inaction by BT leaves Hub incommunicado

Eskdalemuir venue unable to function properly without phoneline or broadband…

 

Nearly 1,000 objections to Warblaw Woodlands

Langholm locals object to commercial forestry on their doorstep An…

 

Depression on David Street to be tackled

and other updates from Councillor Male After many months of…

 

Warblaw worries are endorsed by politicians

MSP Oliver Mundell urges residents to join Warblaw fight ahead…

 

Golden time in Paris for Copshaw’s Paralympian

Team GB Paralympic swimmer Stephen Clegg ALSO breaks long-standing record…what…

 

Teachers face up to the Great North Run

In March this year, Headteacher of the Langholm and Canonbie…

 

Residents encouraged to react to Warblaw plans

If you are against the blanket of trees proposedfor our…

 

Consultation on change of school week structure

Views, opinions and concerns sought from parents/carers Dumfries and Galloway…

 

Letters to the Editor

More Warblaw worries With reference to Mark Hallam’s letter of…

 

Show Season starts with Canonbie's fine flower-power

Mairi Telford Jammeh reports from Canonbie Flower Show and vintage…

 

Much opposition to plan for Warblaw woodlands

Action Group formed to challenge forestry company’s ‘blanket of trees’…

 

Langholm Common Riding 2024

 

Common Riding Gallery 2024

Lots more photos in this week’s E&L. Many thanks to…

 

Over 100 years of Thomas Hope service between them

Angela, Kate and Sheena have all worked in a job…

 

Three of the best

Everyone at the E&L and Muckle Toon Media wish Bailey…

 

Have your say on the future of Langholm Housing

New survey aims to gather opinion on what the town…

 

Castle Craigs Rideout in photos

 

Holes filled, wall secured

At least the Common Riding route is more or less…

 

Future-proofing the Common Riding

No less than 63 ponies and their riders sallied forth…

 

Langholm Common Riding 2024

And so it begins… It was a wee bit on…

 

The Langholm Alliance: facing challenges head-on

‘Despite funding limitations, we are dedicated to transforming Langholm into…

 

Wildfires cause Greek Island holiday scare

A Langholm couple on holiday, in Kardamena on the idyllic…

 

Mighty Hikers Mel and Karl raise over £4k for Cancer Care

Local couple walk in Wales to support charity dear to…

 

Pureous Bunkumos

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful for the Copshaw Common Riding,…

 

Envisioning D&G's future landscape

Ideas for the future landscape of Dumfries and Galloway were…

 

20 WILL BE plenty!

 Blanket 20mph limit for all Langholm streets plus more…

 

Team work helps secure Langholm Day Centre

Manager Sandra Graham pulls out all the stops to negotiate…

 

DGRI cyber attack leads to region-wide mailing

CEO will contact every household in region with online safety…

 
 
requires mailchimp logins and wired up to a list
Join our mailing list
Keep up to date with all that’s going on at the E&L
This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience. We use necessary cookies to make sure that our website works. We’d also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. By clicking “Allow All”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyse site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
These cookies are required for basic functionalities such as accessing secure areas of the website, remembering previous actions and facilitating the proper display of the website. Necessary cookies are often exempt from requiring user consent as they do not collect personal data and are crucial for the website to perform its core functions.
A “preferences” cookie is used to remember user preferences and settings on a website. These cookies enhance the user experience by allowing the website to remember choices such as language preferences, font size, layout customization, and other similar settings. Preference cookies are not strictly necessary for the basic functioning of the website but contribute to a more personalised and convenient browsing experience for users.
A “statistics” cookie typically refers to cookies that are used to collect anonymous data about how visitors interact with a website. These cookies help website owners understand how users navigate their site, which pages are most frequently visited, how long users spend on each page, and similar metrics. The data collected by statistics cookies is aggregated and anonymized, meaning it does not contain personally identifiable information (PII).
Marketing cookies are used to track user behaviour across websites, allowing advertisers to deliver targeted advertisements based on the user’s interests and preferences. These cookies collect data such as browsing history and interactions with ads to create user profiles. While essential for effective online advertising, obtaining user consent is crucial to comply with privacy regulations.