OVER TO YOU [Main Title]

A report on the British hosiery industry team's visit to the United States under the Technical Assistance Program. A general introduction to the way such teams operate, showing the members being briefed before leaving, visiting factories in the United States and making their report on their return to the United Kingdom.

This film, using the example of the UK hosiery industry, focuses on the provision of technical assistance to industries through Marshall Aid, by which US advisors travel to Europe, and Europeans visit with counterparts in the United States. In London, Herbert Kennewell, President of the National Hosiery Manufacturers Federation, announces a delegation of representatives from across the hosiery industry to travel to the United States to learn of working practices there, including a machinist (Doris Farmer), manager (Scott Anderson), mechanic (Arthur Russell) and a trade union representative (Tom Barrow) among others. Sir Vincent Tewson, general secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), addresses the delegation, emphasising the usefulness of cross-industry representation and noting that their spread of know-how throughout the industry is their most important responsibility. Within the US the delegation investigates industrial conditions and notes a high standard of living, including car ownership. It is deduced that the necessary high wages are related to high productivity. The production line and new technologies are employed to increase the volume of production. Managerial figures from the industry make available their reports and accounts. The group takes the time to go sightseeing, visiting Niagara Falls, the Washington and Lincoln Memorials in Washington D.C., Times Square, New York, a fashion show and a stockcar race. A meeting is organised with Paul Hoffman, director of the Economic Cooperation Administration, at which Kennewell offers his thanks for the delegations reception and the insights provided in to 'the American mind' - an important aspect of the productive society. The delegates return to Britain on the RMS Queen Elizabeth. A report is generated from the team's findings, and Kennewell reemphasises the importance of disseminating their know-how throughout the industry.

16mm