Gabriel 150 years - Flipbook - Page 35
is also very poor and this leads to scamped work,
on the warp threads, and as the looms were in
idleness and goods of poor quality.”
operation all the time, the lack of a thread in
There were apparently not many who
the warp direction could easily occur. The
thought that Michael Zacho would succeed in
pieces we wove were checked for flaws on a
saving Kjærs Mølle. On his first day on the job,
table. There was a spotlight under the table, so
the head of the office staff, Miss Toppenberg,
the defects were easy to see.”
welcomed him by remarking that she had now
The first improvements in equipment were
worked for ±≥ managing directors!
made in ±∫∂∑ to ±∫∂π: Some of the looms were
Michael Zacho rolled up his sleeves and
rebuilt for large shuttles, and ±∫∂∫ saw invest-
after a couple of weeks had formed an impres-
ments in new spinning and carding machines
sion of the problems in manufacturing and in
as well as looms.
sales. Production planning was ineffective,
resulting in many orders that were not com-
New products
pleted on time. Furthermore, the quality of the
products was often poor, and many resources
The factory’s product offerings were in great
were, therefore, used in darning and burling.
need of renewal. The mohair goods displayed
The compilation of orders was inadequate as
at a production meeting in ±∫∂∑, for example,
many small quantities were made in too many
were described as boring and “old lady like”.
different designs and qualities. The sales de-
This “dusty” image had to change if Kjærs
partment was inefficient and was out of touch
Mølle were to survive.
with the market. And, finally, the way in which
Zacho knew textiles and had a sense of col-
the piecework system was organised made it
our and pattern as well as of the qualities that
difficult to determine actual labour costs.
would appeal to the younger generation. The
The manufacturing process was reorgan-
factory continued to make small quantities of
ised, but not without some controversy with
material for men’s clothing, and renewal came
the employees and the union. During ±∫∂∂, the
in the form of new, fashionable textiles for
light at the end of the tunnel was in sight.
women. Soon after he took over the job, Zacho
Turnover increased significantly in ±∫∂∑, and
developed new, more fashionable summer and
the manufacturing process was operating
winter collections for women, and the results
smoothly. Thanks to an influx of orders, the an-
were not long in coming. These collections be-
nual report for ±∫∂∂ showed a small profit, and
came a Kjærs Mølle success.
in the spring of ±∫∂∑, the number of employees
In ±∫∂∑, Kjærs Mølle had also begun to use
in manufacturing had grown to ±∏∞, that is, the
synthetic fibres: So-called chemical fibres. The
same level as when Zacho took over.
first fabrics in which synthetic fibres were used
Finances were tight during Zacho’s first years
were nylon and polyester. Synthetic fibres made
at Kjærs Mølle, and there was no money for
headway, but woollen goods of worsted yarn and
major replacements of equipment. Neither was it
carded woollen yarn continued to dominate.
possible to have a generous supply of spare parts
Competition was stiff. In Denmark alone,
on hand, and this sometimes led to long manu-
over ≤∂ factories made clothing fabric in the
facturing stoppages. Aage Jensen, who began as
±∫∂∞s. In spite of this, Kjærs Mølle soon regain-
a weaver at Kjærs Mølle in ±∫∂∂, remembers the
ed its position as one of the leading Danish
looms he worked on as follows:
manufacturers of fabric for the clothing indus-
“The looms we worked on were terrible, and
try. Limited exports were made in the ±∫∂∞s,
the yarn was very bad. There were no lamellas
primarily to Sweden.
1945-1959
36
