Our history

A spotless reputation since 1925

James Scott, the son of a blacksmith, was employed for over 25 years as a yarn spinner and weaver. In 1924, the company’s mill was badly damaged by fire and the owners decided to close the business.
As a reward for his hard work and service, the owners allowed James to salvage whatever spinning, weaving and sewing machinery that could be repaired. The rest, as they say, is history.

Robert joins the business
In 1925, for the first time James started manufacturing cleaning cloths for himself at Acorn Mill in Lees, near Oldham. Five years later, his only son, Robert, joined the firm and gradually took over the running of the business.
Along the way there have been many milestones and firsts, and in the hands of the cleaning professional much of the UK has been mopped, scrubbed, wiped and polished many times over by Robert Scott’s products.

For instance, it was back in 1963 when the business started to supply yellow dusters to T.E.Cohen & Sons (then a market trader), more recently known as Tesco. Not long after we started manufacturing mops, followed dishcloths, oven and floor cloths.
Since then we have designed, manufactured and imported a growing range of cleaning products, expanding our lines, all tailored for the professional janitorial cleaning industry.
We’re particularly proud of the fact we now run some of the last working cotton mills in Lancashire.
Today, there is much founder Robert Scott would have been proud of. We’re a champion for the local economy, the community, industrial heritage and British manufacturing.
See below for some of the milestones in our company history.

Our history

A spotless reputation since 1925

James Scott, the son of a blacksmith, was employed for over 25 years as a yarn spinner and weaver. In 1924, the company’s mill was badly damaged by fire and the owners decided to close the business.
As a reward for his hard work and service, the owners allowed James to salvage whatever spinning, weaving and sewing machinery that could be repaired. The rest, as they say, is history.

Robert joins the business
In 1925, for the first time James started manufacturing cleaning cloths for himself at Acorn Mill in Lees, near Oldham. Five years later, his only son, Robert, joined the firm and gradually took over the running of the business.
Along the way there have been many milestones and firsts, and in the hands of the cleaning professional much of the UK has been mopped, scrubbed, wiped and polished many times over by Robert Scott’s products.

For instance, it was back in 1963 when the business started to supply yellow dusters to T.E.Cohen & Sons (then a market trader), more recently known as Tesco. Not long after we started manufacturing mops, followed dishcloths, oven and floor cloths.
Since then we have designed, manufactured and imported a growing range of cleaning products, expanding our lines, all tailored for the professional janitorial cleaning industry.
We’re particularly proud of the fact we now run some of the last working cotton mills in Lancashire.
Today, there is much founder Robert Scott would have been proud of. We’re a champion for the local economy, the community, industrial heritage and British manufacturing.
See below for some of the milestones in our company history.