The mill building was later converted to processing Irish scutch flax for clothing. With competition in the textile industry, the mill began to transition from primary industry to more secondary finished goods and to that end the workforce largely moved to the "new mill" in the early-mid 20th century which could house the longer lines of Power looms. A concrete walk-way cutting through the forest that separates the two mills was similarly built to allow a quicker exchange of personnel. The now increasingly idle water-powered-mill in what became the "old mill", was converted into a dedicated Low head hydro power Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity generating station. Its operators received a cheque from the ESB for a number of decades until it fell into disrepair. By the late 20th century, both mills shared the fate of most others in the textile industry of western Europe; repeated down-sizing brought about by a failure to innovate a desirable and unique design signature, competition from businesses with greater supply-chain vertical integration, the need to upgrade to more modern Air-jet looms and cheaper labor in the far East have all conspired to ensure the "new mill" likewise has all but left the textile industry that was once the primary employer in Slane. Sections of the factory buildings, beside the Old Mill and Transport Museum are the location of manufacture for the initially Kells-based Handmade Soap Company, owned by Donagh Quigley. While, The Millhouse, in the Quigley family for a number of generations is now a wedding venue. The N2 crosses the River Boyne south of the village. The road descends a steep hill from the village and makes an almost ninety degree turn onto the 14th-century bridge. This bend has been the scene of at least 20 fatalities in living memory. As you climb the hill towards Slane village the wall on the right hand side of the road has a number of small white crosses, each representing a death on this stretch of road. Most of the crashes have involved heavy goods vehicles which are not able to slow down sufficiently to make the sharp bend after picking up speed on the hill. Meath County Council and the National Roads Authority have installed a number of traffic calming measures over the years in an attempt to make the bend onto the bridge safer, and since their installation, fatal accidents have ceased. It was hoped that the opening of the M1 motorway would divert a lot the heavy traffic from the village but there is evidence that many heavy goods vehicles still use the N2 (and thus Slane bridge) to avoid paying the toll on the M1 bridge.