News from Westin Drives

The refurbishment of Grove Works, the 19th century former textile mill in which Westin Drives is based, has won a design award.

Huddersfield Civic Society said that the five-storey, stone-built mill was undergoing ‘a remarkable transformation to create a productive working unit’ .

At a ceremony in Huddersfield Town Hall, a plaque to mark the award was given to John Eastwood, chairman of the Westin Group, and Ivan Moorhouse, who led the refurbishment project.

The judges described Grove Works as a distinctive structure along an otherwise nondescript section of St Andrew’s Road. 'Great effort and costs have gone into removing unsightly outbuildings, dealing with an extensive sump of below surface water and creating a functional modern extension,’ they said.

‘Stonework, windows and doors have been refurbished providing a much-improved entrance. These improvements constitute phase one of a programme that will take many years to fully realise but demonstrate the value of retaining and improving buildings for productive use and employment.’

The mill housed part of the spinner and weaver, T and H Blamires, for nearly 100 years until the business was wound up in 1961. It was subsequently occupied by a yarn spinner, Z Hinchliffe, until that firm moved its operation elsewhere.

A fault on a textile mill machine has led to improved efficiency for a West Yorkshire company.

​An engineer from Westin Drives was called out to the mill because of a problem with the drive system of a warping machine. 

​Its 45 year-old, oil-filled, variable-speed drive had ground to a halt during busy production.

The unit was removed for repair but our electrical engineer Barrie Harkness suggested an upgrade to the customer – which was accepted.

It was pointed out that this would enable production speed to be increased, so a target value of 50% additional output was established.

Using a WEG inverter, WEG motor and Motovario gearbox from stock, the machine was up and running in record time, with new sprockets replacing the worn originals.

The project also proved worthwhile for saving energy, as the old system ran continuously whether the machine was actually producing or not.

The new system retrofit only runs when required and at an optimum speed to match requirements.