At its height Patons produced about 25 million pairs of boot and shoe laces each year, plus tapes, braids and cord.

The six storey building to the right in the picture above, beside The Black Cart in Johnstone, was built in 1782 as a cotton mill, and was extended 104 years later in 1886 with an additional six storey mill complete with tower.
This industrial complex was acquired by Patons in 1896 and they operated a successful business for nearly ninety years, manufacturing many millions of pairs of boot and shoe laces, dominating the British market, supplying the then huge shoe manufacturing industry in England.

In 1990 the Irish company Punch Industries bought the site and, despite substantial investment in equipment and the expansion of the workforce, finally closed their operation in 2003, moving production elsewhere.

The building seems in reasonable condition and has on site security, though in the present uncertain economic climate its future use is doubtful, certainly not as a site of mass production and employment. Some minor effort to preserve a little of the industrial heritage has already taken place, and is continuing with The Clyde Heritage Trust who enabled the visit to produce these photographs.