Coiler can, made by Oldham Flax Fibre Co Ltd., about 1880-1950. Manufactured from vulcanised fibres. Coiler cans collected the sliver produced by carding, combing or drawing machines.

Coiler cans like this were crucial to the smooth operation of the intermediate machine processes carried out after cotton is cleaned and before it is spun. They were used by workers in textile mills in tandem with textiles machinery to collect the long strips of parallel cotton fibres known as sliver which is produced by carding, combing and drawing machines. Their cylindrical design enabled large amounts of sliver to be collected in a continuous coil, ready to be processed by the next machine, in cans that could be moved easily between machines. They were a common sight in textile mills across Manchester and Lancashire in the 19th and 20th centuries and very similar cans are still used in mills across the world today.

The can is made of a vulcanised fibre, a cellulose material that was first developed in 1859 and was used in a range of industrial products, due to its strength and relative lightness, compared to other resilient materials such as metals.

The can was made by Oldham Flax Fibre Co. Ltd, who were based in Highfield Street in Oldham. A maker’s logo of a flax meadow and the maker’s name is affixed to the front of the can. The company made a range of vulcanised fibre containers used within the textile industry.