OutingThe employees at Messrs. Eaton and Co.’s factory held a shop outing on Saturday. The journey commenced about 8.30a.m., the company proceeding via Turvey to Odell, where a happy time was spent on the river. Odell was left about 2.p.m., and the company spent the rest of the day at Bedford. The return journey was commenced about 10 o’clock, and Rushden was reached soon after midnight. Messrs. Eaton and Co. generously defrayed the expenses of travelling.

Concentration of shoe production

The directors of the Eaton and Co (Rushden) Ltd, group of shoe factories have decided to concentrate the production of shoes at present being made at A. E. Wright’s factory, Higham Ferrers, into the John Cave and Sons’ factory at Rushden.

In a statement Eaton’s said: “It is hoped that all employees will be willing to work at John Cave’s, where greater expansion will be possible when conditions in the trade generally return to normal.”

More Space

The decision has come as a result of the group installing a modern storage system in their Gordon Street factory, making a central warehouse for the group, and a track system at the John Cave factory, which has made available floor space for manufacturing at Rushden larger in area than at the Higham Ferrers factory.

It is proposed that, commencing with the clicking room, the transfer will be gradual, to ensure as little inconvenience as possible.

Mr. P. L. Simmons, works manager, will continue to be responsible for the A. E. Wright production.

Rushden Echo, 28th February 1964, transcribed by Gill Hollis

Progress at Eatons
Closing Rooms In Need of More and More Women

For most of the factories the staffing of closing rooms provides one of the biggest problems they just can’t recruit enough women to cope with the flow of work from other departments.

One of the special tracks installed by Eaton and Co. (Rushden) Ltd., at Caves, their College Street, Rushden, shoe factory, is helping to speed up production to meet the growing volume of orders. Eaton's have carried out a major stage of their modernisation scheme in the town and have recently completed installation of work transporters in the St Mark’s Road, Corby, closing room. The shoes shown here will be cleaned and polished before the last part of their production - lacing and boxing.

At J. Cave and Sons’ factory in College Street, which is part of the Eaton Group of shoe factories, the girls and women machinists have an added interest in their jobs, for they are dealing with up-to-date fashion shoes for both men and women, as well as the more conventional types of footwear.

Among the many skilled operations in the closing room is machining the fancy stitching which has become so popular on men’s shoes.

Plain shoes, too, relying on the type of leather and styling for their appeal, are also being made by the men and women at the factory.

The casual country-walking style of ladies’ shoes, made from pigskin which looks like suede, are proving popular with customers, as are the Chelsea-type boots for young men.

On an optimistic note, the factory is at the present time turning out rack upon rack of men’s sandals to meet the demand of retailers who are anticipating good weather and high sales next summer.