In 1920 mill spun yarn was on such demand in Harris that Kenneth Mackenzie Ltd, Stornoway decided to build a carding and spinning mill in Tarbert, Harris.The mill proved to be very busy and successful up until 1970's. The closure of, and significant restructuring within, Harris Tweed mills—including the mill at Tarbert associated with the Kenneth Mackenzie name—during the 1970s was primarily driven by a collapse in demand for traditional single-width tweed, the rise of "disposable" fashion, and a necessary, albeit painful, industry-wide shift toward double-width power weaving. On the closure of the mill, the owner offered a new delivery system of yarn from the Stornoway Mills to Harris.
