Visited with noodlethesis I waited for the missus to f***k off out to work so i could go and meet up with noodlethesis to do a little exploring for a few hours.
So we tried a few places and walked a few miles with no luck, we then decided to try our luck at A. Brunnschweiler & co, ABC Wax in hyde.
We agreed that noodlethesis would ask the security guard if we can come in and take a few pictures, I didnt want to ask him myself due to me being caught on the site twice without permission, he said yes but had to phone 1 of the bosses who is based in the live section of the site.
With luck the boss also said yes we can come in and take some shots but wanted to speak to us first, So we headed over to the offices to see him.
He gave us a map of the entire site and marked off the places that was a no go due to asbestos being everywhere and falling roofs. So we headed off into the site and was only able to get into 1 building because all the doors are locked up tight, but we still got some good snaps around the buildings and the towers.
Here is some history of the place
The first ABC Wax Prints were produced in 1908 on the same site as today, which was constructed in 1812 as a conventional textile printing factory.
The Wax Print is based on the Javanese batik print that was introduced to West Africa during the second half of the 19th Century. African soldiers, returning home after serving commissions in Indonesia, took these brightly coloured cloths with them and soon started a fashion in their own countries. Small local production started but demand exceeded supply because the traditional production process was slow and laborious. Several European manufacturers, including ABC, began experimenting to speed up the process in order to produce this cloth at more affordable prices.
ABC today
A Wax Print starts with the design. ABC designers constantly search for new ideas, travelling to Africa and talking with customers and distributors. The African influence is of paramount importance in a design, but the design itself is usually created in the UK. ABC has a database of over 35,000 designs. New designs are currently launched at the rate of about 200 per year.
When a customer chooses a particular design, that design is engraved on a pair of copper rollers. Printing a resin paste - hence the term "Wax" - on to both sides of the cotton cloth creates the Wax Print. The cloth is then dyed - either in Indigo or the now more popular Royal Blue - and the design appears on those areas of the cloth where the resin has not been applied. The cloth is then treated mechanically to produce the cracking effect, characteristic of a real Wax Print. Depending on the type and duration of this process, different effects of marbling in the colour can be achieved. Further colours can be added whilst the cracked resin remains on the cloth, and then again after all the resin has been removed. It is this combination of cracking, marbled colours and solid colours that illuminate the ABC Wax Print to such a fine degree
Continued emphasis on developing new styles and colours has not altered the unique characteristic that each yard of ABC Wax is different and beautiful. Concentrating on innovative designs, brightness of colours and quality of cloth, ABC provides the most attractive range of wax prints available on the market today.
The Cha Group
ABC is part of the Cha Group of companies. Technical liaison with the many textile mills in West Africa and access to the extensive network of distributors has been a major strength.
The Cha Group has earned its identity as the most cost-effective and dependable source of African textile products, through fifty years' successful operation. They have established a unique reservoir of skill and technology, with a depth of experienced management, unmatched in West Africa or indeed elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are employed - the vast majority in Africa. The Group holds the major market share of the Wax print market.
The past decade has seen major reinvestment in machinery and efficiency by the Cha Group, putting in place continuous-process upgrades and technological advancements The Cha Group has created an organisation that anticipates and satisfies the needs of African consumers.
Move to Ghana
On December 21 st , 2005, His Excellency, President John A. Kufour officially inaugurated ABC's new production facility at our sister company, Akosombo Textiles Limited. Our decision to move production of standard wax to Ghana was based on the need to respond more quickly to the changing demands of the local African consumer.
This move took years of planning and an investment worth millions of dollars. New machinery was installed at the Akosombo site and the workforce were highly trained by ABC technical managers so that ABC's high production standards are maintained.
The success of producing high quality Standard wax in Ghana during 2006/7, led to the transfer of the remaining ABC products such as Superwax, Handblock and Premium which resulted in the final closure of the Manchester production facility in December 2007.
To maintain and protect the ABC brand and products a small design studio was retained in Manchester who today continue to design for ABC and other group brands.
Here are my pictures please enjoy
Here is the map he gave to us
This is 1 of the no go areas the guy said
I had to check inside this tower, it is full of burnt ash
s Thanks for looking and i hope you enjoyd s
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