By 1905 Wright Brothers of the Boyne Mills, Portsoy, made reapers, drillers and threshing mills. It was their threshing mills, and as a millwright that the company was especially renowned. By the late 1940s the business was undergoing significant changes. In early 1948 steps were being taken to incorporate it to become a company limited by guarantee; the company received its certificate of incorporation to become Wright Brothers (Boyne Mills) Ltd. The company continued in business until 1955. On 7 February that year the company passed an extraordinary resolution to voluntarily wind up the company. Its final winding up meeting was held on 17 October 1956.
In 1954 Wright Brothers (Boyne Mills) Ltd was continuing to manufacture a range of machines. These included its “Boyne” Junior Hammer Mill for “grinding, sieving, mixing and bagging off in one operation” and its Boyne Hammer Mill. In March it announced that it was undertaking serving and repairs of tractors, cars and commercial mills. In the summer, it undertook pre-harvest maintenance and repair of tractors and binders. It also sold binder twine, stack nets, coir yarn, churns, milking machines, pails, hay forks and scythes.
During the summer of 1954 the business was successful in gaining a contract of small threshing mills from the Republic of Ireland. This was a significant contract and notice of it was published in The Scotsman on 24 June 1954:
“Country industries
New machinery attracts interest
Mr W.A. Wright, Boyne Mills, Banff, designed the £160 small threshing mill intended for the small farmer and driven by a 6hp electric motor. Scottish Country Industries Development Trust are helping his firm to obtain larger premises to enable them to fulfil a five years contract with the Irish Republic. The small threshing mill, the designer claims, will save the farmer about £36 a year and his wife the necessity of feeding the large staff needed to work the larger machine.
The firm in Banff has been making threshing mills for 100 years, and the father and grandfather of the exhibitor made the first traction engines in the North of Scotland. The new Irish Government has expressed great interest in the new developments and has suggested sending Irishmen to be trained to that they could make and repair the machines themselves.”
The voluntary liquidation of the business in may 1955 suggests that the contract was not carried out. There was an extensive sale of millwrights’ plant, machinery and electrical equipment at the Boyne Mills on Saturday 28 May.
