January and wood, a cotton mill that has been on the local scene since Maysville's earliest years, has passed a milestone.
The company is now more than 150 years old and, despite the current state of the textile industry and the gloomy forcast for the U.S. economy, the mood at the local industry is one of cautious optimism.
"We are running two full shifts and part of a third shift in trying to keep up with the current orders," said company president William C. Adair in an interview last week.
Adair is one of no more than half a dozen men who have served as chief executive at the mill since its founding in 1831.
the orginal mill was built in the years 1831-1834 by William Shotwell and is the center portion of the complex, located on West Second Street, that serves the company today.
Shotwell operated the mill until 1844, selling his interest to Richard henry Lee. Andrew January entered the picture in 1848 and B.W. Wood in 1851.
January and Wood purchased the plant from other stockholders in 1851 and incorporated the business in 1887. Wood was elected president Dec. 20, 1887.
January's daughter married R.A. Cochran and she, with the help of her five sons, purchased the company in 1896. One son, A.M.J. Cochran, was elected president that year. Another son, Horace Cochran, took over as president in 1927, but died two years later and A.M.J. Cochran returned as president to serve until his death in 1934.
At that time, Robert N. Adair was elected president of the firm and Robert A. Cochran III became secretary-treasurer. They remained as executives of the mill until their retirement in 1965.
In August of 1965, William Adair, now the fifth generation of a family which has served the business since 1848, was elected president. Two sons, William C. Adair Jr., and Cliff "Kip" Adair, joined the company in the late 1960s and continue to hold positions there.
Cotton spinning was in its infancy when the local facility was established as one of the first southern mills. River travel provided an excellent means of transporting both the raw material that was used here and the finished products that were shipped throughout the country.
Transportation methods and methods of cotton manufacturing have changed and improved in the century-and-a-half that the mill has been in existence, but the local facility has had a coninuous record of operation, except for several weeks during the Civil War. Time and again old buildings have been updated and new buildings added to increase the production area and the manufacturing capabilities. January and Wood Cotton Mills, although one of the smaller independent mills in operation, is known for its wide diversity of product lines.
More than 200 employees are currently employed in the mill and some 10,000 bales of cotton, rayon and polyester are processed each year. Distribution points include outlets in all 50 states.
Kentucky rug yarn and the celebrated "Maysville" brand of cotton warp for home weaving are known throughout the United States and new product lines include "Maysville" tobacco bale twin used by farmers to tie increasing amounts of baled burley for marketing.
"The last several years have been difficult for the company," said Adair in the recent interview. "Many of our product lines have been replaced by prepackaging and new synthetic fibers, manufactured on different types of machinery."
"However," he added, "at some time, we have been discovering new uses for our products. Business sales began to level off earlier this year (1981) and have shown a slight increase as the year comes to an end."
Government regulations continue to be a problem for businesses such as January and Wood. Large expenditures continue to be required for non-productive items such as detail reports, supplies and machinery.
"Total cooperation on the part of our employees as been a key to our continued health," said Adair in summing up the company's current status, "The outlook for 1982 shows a steady market unless there is a drastic downturn in the national economy."
Among the product lines now being manufactured at the facility are commercial wrapping twines, meat packing twines, crochet and household twines including kite string and netting and welting cord for the clothing and upholstery trade.
January and Wood receives its raw cotton from Texas, rayon from plants in Virginia and Alabama and polyester from South Carolina. Originally designed as a cotton manufacturing plant, the mill is now producing 60 percent synthetics.
Sales are made to such familiar names as G.C.Murphy Co., Southern State Co-op, Ace Hardware, Sears and Roebuck, General Motors, Wolworth's, Merrill Lynch,
Shillito's, Kroger, Coats and Clark and K-Mart.
