‘It was like visiting the North Pole of socks!’
Abuzz with whirring machines and a staff who are quite plainly potty about socks, our visit to #walk1000miles sock partner Bridgedale’s factory in Newtownards, Northern Ireland left our ears ringing in the best way.
If you thought socks mean a lot to you as a walker, you’ll marvel at what goes into every pair. Long-standing partners of #walk1000miles, Bridgedale have always been the most fervent believers in the challenge. Their motto is ‘Little Things Matter’, and boy do we understand how deep the idea runs now we’ve seen how their socks are made. It’s why they make the UK’s best-selling socks – and why they’re a perfect match for a challenge which knows above all else what a HUGE difference little steps combine to make. Enjoy the journey!
Guy Procter – editor, Country Walking
Made of more
More thread, more ingenuity, more heart: CW discovers how Bridgedale turn 3.2 kilometres of yarn into the pride of Newtownards.
There are 3.2 kilometres of yarn – and over 20 different types – in every pair of Bridgedale socks. And from the finding of the first thread’s end to the final taping-up of a new box of 72 pairs, every part of the process takes place in this densely packed, yet light and airy Northern Irish factory. Every sock passes through half a dozen pairs of human hands, each adding their layer of skill and attention to the soon-to-be finished item. It’s a dizzyingly detailed process, and in a hall filled with scores of knitting machines it’s a noisy environment. But it’s one in which the staff move about with a kind of purposeful serenity, afforded them by the decades of experience most of them have, and the humane oversight of Operations Manager Ronnie Hoy, himself a veteran of three decades – and many millions of socks.
From this factory every pair of Bridgedales destined for 46 countries emerges – the result of a blizzard of dancing needles, cleverly hacked machines and the endless care of people who love socks even more than you do. Behold, the making of Britain’s best-selling, and best-loved walking socks. There’s more to it than you think.
Design
Each Bridgedale is designed by Stephen Connor’s NPD department. A new style – like the recently launched range for trail runners – can go through three years of testing and iteration. Taste in socks is getting brighter says Stephen; and of his 30-year quest for perfection: ‘The job is never done’.
Bill of materials
Up to 17 different yarns go into each sock – and the precise weights and costs of each fibre must be strictly calculated. Once a design is finalised, its details, and a master sock, are stored in a reference folder to ensure consistency can always be checked, tens of thousands of socks later.
Yarn checks
Yarns come from all over Europe and must be checked for colour, elasticity and something called ‘crimp rigidity’. Periodically a complete sock is tested on a Martindale abrasion tester, simulating a week of wear in a fraction of the time. ‘We had to stop the last test at 500,000 cycles. It just wasn’t wearing,’ says Stephen.
Winding
For its signature Fusion fibres Bridgedale twists Merino wool and synthetic nylon yarns together before the knitting – a process performed by an unresting set of Agtek winding machines. The combination allows designs with hybrid properties for different parts of different socks.
Knitting
These Italian knitting machines operate 6am to 10pm; 17 to a person. A 112-needle machine knits a sock (cuff to toe) in three minutes. Bridgedale mechanics’ tweaks to feeders, needles, butts, jacks, cams, and sinkers allow the machines to ‘Do things it wasn’t designed to and no one has been able to replicate’.
Bulking
Batches of new socks go into a machine which uses steam to preshrink the sock to its proper fit. Socks go in long and loose and come out (in the firm’s parlance) ‘tight’. The type of Nylon Bridgedale uses (6/6) shrinks only once to achieve its permanent size.
Boarding
After bulking, every sock is hand-sleeved over metal boards and taken into an automatic steamer and presser. Elsie Ritchie’s been boarding socks for 15 years. ‘I couldn’t stand up all day like this without my Bridgedales,’ she says; ‘I feel proud to work here’.
Inspecting
The freshly-pressed socks are next examined and paired – all by hand. Inspectors like Nadine examine every sock’s fabric and knitting for flaws. Each examiner checks at least 1800 socks per shift. Rejected socks are sold as seconds or donated.
Packing
After inspecting, packing – again all done manually, a pair at a time. The packaging too is made in Belfast. Packer Julianna Szepvolgyi has worked here eight months: ‘There’s no pressure, everyone is kind. I can’t say enough good things about it,’ she says.
Boxing & dispatch
54-72 pairs fill a box depending on the sock style. Each filled box is then fed through a metal detector on the remote chance a needle part has found its way in. Thirty boxes fill a pallet, and are then wrapped and ready for the warehouse.
From the factory floor – Bridgedale people
“‘It’s always been a job I didn’t dislike coming into. Everyone gets on. I don’t drive so I walk everywhere. We’re allowed two pair of Bridgedales a month. I don’t get through that many though. They last forever.’
”
“‘We do a three-year apprenticeship here, then you’re away. When everything’s running smoothly you feel like you’ve won, you really do.’”
“‘I started in the factory when it was Blaxnit, which made socks for soldiers in World War I. It’s the only job I’ve ever had. People joining now will retire here I’ll bet. Our product is just so good.’”
“‘Everyone is friendly. No one pesters you. The socks are just so comfy so they are. I’ve got friends in the army who never stop going on about Bridgedales. Best job I’ve ever had.’”
“‘I couldn’t believe how much goes into the socks. On a good day I inspect over 2000. I’m quite disorganised in my own life so I like the orderliness here. Outside work I play centre-back for 1st Bangor football club.’”
“‘Ask anyone in Newtownards and they’ll tell you “My aunty worked there”, or “My granda’ worked there”. We’ve people today who’ve worked here 40 years and more, and they still want to come to work every day. The reason? We’re doing a good job. They’re the best in the world. And the way we’re treated here is second to none. Little things matter, they really do.’ ”
