Mergers and Name Changes

When the English Sewing Cotton Company began publishing their internal newsletter in January 1966, it counted 21,000 employees. In this first newsletter the company made a statement:

"From Monday 3rd January 1966...ESCC will become a holding company and parent company of the following: 

1) Textile company to be known as English Sewing Limited1 which will cover all textile operations  

2) UK non-textile companies which will contine to be known under the present titles - Thermo Plastics Ltd, Yates Duxbury Ltd and Lithopak Ltd.2

3) The overseas companies which will continue to operate under their present names."

Notes:

1 - Therefore all Sylko reels labelled English Sewing Ltd date from 1966 onwards

2 - Lithopak was the Hazel Grove manufacturer of ESCC packaging, therefore making the Sylko boxes

The locations of the textile company operations were given as follows:

Spinning - Portwood, Bolton, Pendlebury,  Lisnaskea, Stanhill

Thread - Neilston, Skipton, Belper, Dulwich Depot, Leeds Depot, Leicester Depot, Scottish Depot. 

In the April 1966 issue of the newsletter,  a further breakdown of the thread division of the textile section was outlined. The mills producing thread goods were:

Neilston, Skipton, Belper, Matlock,  Milford, Dulken (West Germany)

It appears there had been much behind the scenes jigging about of departments, judging by this list of differing locations.

Thread products in April 1966 were subdivided as follows:

Soft: Oriental, Neilston Knotless, Swan Glacé, Escort

Mercerised: Sylko, Security

Synthetics: Polyfil, Trylko, Terral, Delta, Star

In August 1968, the company merged with and became known as English Calico,  with 9 divisions:

Thread, Industrial, Fabric, Household, Menswear, Fashion, Retail, Subsidiary  Companies and Overseas.

In July 1973, the group took the name Tootal. The merger of Tootal with ESCC had taken place in 1963, and it's not clear why the Tootal name was adopted 10 years on. The big T logo was introduced in 1982. 

In 1991, Coats Viyella acquired Tootal.



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