PORTADOWN:A Northern Ireland carpet manufacturer has invested millions in unique new technology that will enable it to take on - and beat - cheap competition from Asia.
Ulster Carpets, based in Portadown, Co Armagh has completed a £15 million (€19.6 million) investment in a revolutionary new weaving system and is also hiring an extra 20 staff. Nick Coburn, managing director of the family-owned business, said: "Our rivals all use technology based on a 200-year-old design - this new system means we can make carpets of a quality nobody else can match, and the savings we make in efficiency means that we can beat off competition from Asia."
The company's new system - which has been patented worldwide - won the Queen's Award for Innovation last year in the UK. It changes the traditional weaving system of using 10,000 small bobbins loaded on looms to one involving 1,000 larger cones, leading to a 90 per cent reduction in set up time and waste. Additionally, while traditional looms can cope with up to 12 colours, Ulster Carpets' PSYLO technology allows up to 25.
Mr Coburn said: "We've invested really heavily in research and development. Now we're seeing that investment paying off. Nobody else in the world can do what we do."
