TWO major Northern Ireland textiles companies have joined forces to create a new luxury fabric business aimed at the high-end hospitality industry.
Ulster Carpets, based in Portadown, Co Armagh, and Mourne Textiles, based in Rostrevor, Co Down, have partnered up to launch the new company - Mourne Weavers.
The company aims to provide luxury products, including cushions, blankets, and curtain and furnishing fabrics to hotels, bars, restaurants and cruise ships.
The products will be similar to Mourne Textiles' distinctive hand-woven designs, inspired by the mountain range which gave the business its name.
The new workshop will be based in premises in Warrenpoint, Co Down.
The company will create several new jobs and allow both firms to share their expertise.
Both businesses are still owned by the families of their founders.
Founded in 1938, Ulster Carpets designs and manufactures carpets for clients including hotels, casinos and cruise ships across the world. The company employs nearly 700 people and has offices in the US, Dubai, Paris and London.
Mourne Textiles, founded in a small workshop in the Mournes in the late 1940s, creates a range of hand-woven goods that are sold in Japan, Australia, North America and Europe.
Mario Sierra, creative director of Mourne Textiles, said he was excited by the venture.
"In terms of quality craftsmanship, bespoke designs and local heritage, both Mourne Textiles and Ulster Carpets have a shared philosophy and a strong passion for our industry," he said.
"That is why the creation of Mourne Weavers is the perfect partnership.
"We are delighted to have secured this substantial investment from Ulster Carpets that will allow us to retain the core strengths of Mourne Textiles while growing into new sectors with Mourne Weavers."
Mr Sierra is the grandson of Mourne Textiles founder Gerd Hay-Edie, a Norwegian design pioneer who collaborated with designers including Terence Conran and Robin Day. Mr Day, one of the most influential British designers of the twentieth century, regularly used Ms Hay-Edie's 'Mourne Check' fabric design when he was creating furniture for the Hille company in the 1950s.
Ms Hay-Edie passed on her traditional weaving techniques to her daughter Karen Hay-Edie who in turn taught her son, Mr Sierra.
Known for the rich colours of its textured fabrics, the workshop sources yarns from Donegal and dyes them to match the designs created by its founder.
Ulster Carpets, founded by George Walter Wilson and still owned by his family, already has interests in the artisan fabric sector.
In 2016, it bought London-based Roger Oates Design, which designs and produces luxury runners and rugs.
Nick Coburn, group managing director at Ulster Carpets, said the investment will allow the company to expand further into a different sector.
"Despite the many challenges within the global market, we continue to show confidence in the marketplace and we are excited about the new opportunities that this new joint venture will bring," he said.
"It also underpins our ongoing growth and diversification strategy to invest in the development of similar businesses and allows us to widen our portfolio into this exciting niche sector in Ireland."
