Stewarton’s oldest knitwear manufacturer has had a visit from Brian Whittle MSP. Robert Mackie of Scotland was established in 1845 and became famous as the maker of the traditional highland bonnets like Glengarries and Balmorals, worn by many of Scotland’s most famous army regiments.
Today, the company employs around 75 people and produces their own product range of woollen hats, gloves and scarves as well as designs for premium retail brands.
As the firm approaches it’s 175th birthday, many of the processes used today are still the same as they were when it first opened, but the company has continued to invest in new technologies to make production more efficient and reduce waste. Today, new patterns are designed on computer before being fed into state of the art machines to knit the product.
To get the best quality products, Mackie’s use wool imported from Australia, where the climate means sheep produce some of the finest wool in the world. From there it travels to England where it’s spun into yarn and made ready to be knitted into hats, gloves and scarves. Mackie’s product range is so diverse that it’s almost unique in buying stocks of all 120 or so colours that the yarn company makes. All Mackie’s products are made entirely in their Stewarton factory and they proudly label every item “Made in Scotland”.
During Brian’s visit he met with Graeme Haddow, the company’s managing director, who led a management buyout of the business in 2015 when the last member of the Mackie family in the business decided to step back. Brian sat down with Graeme to discuss the history of the business and its plans for the future before being given a tour of their production facilities.
Graeme Haddow, Managing Director, Robert Mackie of Scotland said:
“We were delighted to welcome Mr Whittle to our factory and to show him around our facility. We thank Brian for taking an in interest in what we produce, our staff and to learn more about the steps we have taken to become a more sustainable business. As an established business in the local area we look forward to his future support.”
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“It was a pleasure to visit Robert Mackie’s and meet with Graeme. Stewarton and East Ayrshire more widely has a long tradition of textile manufacturing and it’s great to see that Stewarton’s reputation as The Bonnet Toun is still being preserved.
With Scotland’s weather, it’s easy to understand why Robert Mackie’s chose to make hats, scarves and gloves; but it’s their impressive reputation for quality that’s kept them in business. Despite global competition, Mackie’s have grown and thrived, selling their products around the world.
I’m grateful to Graeme and his team for taking the time to meet me and look forward to seeing what comes next for them.”
