Business

Portadown firm supplies Queen Elizabeth liner with custom-made carpets

The Queen Elizabeth liner, where Ulster Carpets in Portadown has completed a major project to supply floor cover
The Queen Elizabeth liner, where Ulster Carpets in Portadown has completed a major project to supply floor cover The Queen Elizabeth liner, where Ulster Carpets in Portadown has completed a major project to supply floor cover

PORTADOWN-based Ulster Carpets, the north's leading premium brand carpet manufacturer, has completed a major project to supply luxurious custom-made Axminster to the Queen Elizabeth, the youngest liner in the Cunard fleet.

Queen Elizabeth's multi-million pound refit included cabin upgrades, a redesigned Royal Arcade, new outdoor spaces and a refurbished spa and beauty salon, and its aim was to bring the ship up to the standards of fleet-mates Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria.

And the family-run Ulster Carpets - which in 2017 opened a new £10m dye house and energy centre as part of a major £35m investment - worked with London-based M Studio Design to supply 45,000 sq metres of carpet, which is enough to cover Wembley football pitch six and a half times over.

The iconic Queen Elizabeth ship, currently based in Australia before departing for Tokyo in March for two voyages exploring the cultural delights of the islands, exudes luxury and elegance, with sumptuous staterooms, spacious lounges and fine dining.

All the carpet for the liner has been produced within the UK - from spinning the yarn at Ulster Yarns in Dewsbury to weaving the carpets in Portadown and at Griffith Textile Machines, the company's manufacturing and engineering facility located in the north east of England.

Ulster Carpets, founded 80 years ago by Jean and George Walter Wilson and now chaired by their son Edward, recently reported an 11.5 per cent rise in sales to a record £76.3 million.

Its pre-tax profits spiralled by 59 per cent to £10.7 million in the year to March 31, with £8.5 million being retained after all payments were made.

Working closely with Alan McVitty at M Studio Design and Cunard, Ulster Carpet’s brief was to supply exemplary luxury carpet throughout the ship.

Alison Clixby, Cunard’s hotel design director, was keen to marry the ship's elegant art deco heritage with up to date interior furnishings and colour schemes.

It was also important to create continuity within the fleet, so previous designs used on Queen Mary and Queen Victoria were referenced in places, recoloured and modified to suit.

Other areas on the ship have been newly invented with contemporised, sharply delineated deco geometrics and natural forms. Golds and deep rich blues feature strongly teamed with modern stone grey neutrals and terracottas.

A striking, large scroll and strap work compass has been created as a signature emblem at Cunard Place, the main embarkation point. This is echoed through the large open area of the Queen's Room, the elegant ballroom.

In May the Queen Elizabeth will start a transpacific voyage to relocate to Alaska for a maiden season until June 30, and will then head back to Southampton via the Panama Canal.