Manufacturing Driven by the needs of the fishing and sailing industry, Arbroath-based sailmaker Francis Webster Ltd perfected in 1795 the art of adding linseed oil to flax sails, creating an oiled flax. This developed in the late 19th century into waxed cotton, which drove Arbroath as a manufacturing centre until the early 1970s, when it began to decline. A major employer, Keith & Blackman, closed in 1985 and Giddings and Lewis-Fraser wound down about the same time, with the whole plant later demolished to make way for a supermarket. Alps Electric Co. was a large employer in Arbroath from 1990 to 2001, employing 180. All were made redundant when the plant closed.
Manufacturing Driven by the needs of the fishing and sailing industry, Arbroath-based sailmaker Francis Webster Ltd perfected in 1795 the art of adding linseed oil to flax sails creating an oiled flax. This developed in the late 19th century into waxed cotton, which drove Arbroath as a manufacturing centre until the early 1970s, when it began to decline A major employer, Keith & Blackman, closed in 1985 and Giddings and Lewis-Fraser wound down about the same time, with the whole plant later demolished to make way for a supermarket. Alps Electric Co was a large employer in Arbroath from 1990 to 2001, employing 180. All were made redundant when the plant closed.