TEXTILES: The Pride of Uxbridge

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Drafters & Slashers. Dissatisfied with the archaic techniques of the worsted industry, Walter started experimenting with new equipment. Working alone or with machine toolmakers Warner & Swasey, Bachmann Uxbridge developed a raft of new equipment, some of which has since become standard in the worsted industry: the Pin Drafter, which is a more efficient machine for drawing wool into strands prior to spinning; a more efficient slasher which coats the yarn with a chemical to make it stronger; an automatic spray device for oiling and tinting yarn; a labor-saving tacking machine for holding fabrics together while they are being processed; an automatic fabric-marking device for identifying suppliers.

Bachmann Uxbridge also developed a new marking chalk which it sells to competitors and which pays for much of the company's chemical research program. Early in 1951, Walter started turning out poodle cloth, which is still its biggest seller in the women's wear field. Its latest development, still under wraps in the company's laboratory: a revolutionary method of making worsted yarn at a lower cost.