Hainsworth - a material success story by Tom Hainsworth, MD of Hainsworth on 17-May-2012

In this year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, one of Britain’s most prestigious textile mills has ramped up production in order to meet the demands of Royalty and retailers ahead of the celebrations.

Hainsworth, a family business which has been around for 229 years and seven generations, will take special pride during this summer’s formal ceremonies. The company has the Royal Warrant for supplying the Queen with interior fabrics for Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Its cloth also covers the Woolsack in the House of Lords.

The Queen’s Guards will be wearing the famous Hainsworth Guard Scarlet cloth, which is made at the mill in Pudsey, Yorkshire. And the mill has also produced a stunning limited edition Jubilee Throw – part of its recently-launched Scarlet & Argent consumer lifestyle brand - to mark the special occasion. Made from 100% lambswool, the blanket is inspired by the colours of the Union Flag and the Thames River Pageant. The blanket has been snapped up by leading retailer John Lewis.

Red was the standard uniform colour for the British infantry up to the 19th Century – it was said to enhance morale and patriotism as well as distinguish friend from foe – British soldiers fought in scarlet tunics for the last time at the Battle of Ginnis in the Sudan in 1885. Events such as the Diamond Jubilee continue a prestigious history for Hainsworth which has been supplying cloth to the UK Armed Forces since the Duke of Wellington faced Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. All the cloth supplied is made to exacting standards demanded by the Ministry of Defence.

The Scarlet & Argent range acknowledges the purchase by Hainsworth of William Lupton & Co, from the great-grandparents of the Duchess of Cambridge in 1958. The company belonged to Kate Middleton’s great-grandmother, Olive Lupton, and the Lupton family crest is the inspiration for the Lupton Blanket.

The company, one of the oldest woollen mills in Europe, has thrived during the harsh economic times by championing innovation and continually looking for new markets – of which Scarlet & Argent is a prime example. Hainsworth also operates in many different sectors, from protective fabrics for the emergency services and uniforms for the military to pool and snooker table cloth and interior fabrics for some of the most exclusive homes and palaces around the world.

Another major part of the company’s business strategy is looking to significantly increase its international exports. It has launched a global sales and marketing push to promote its innovative fabrics used to kit out firefighters. Hainsworth TITAN fabric is already used by a number of British fire brigades as well as fire services in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sweden and Germany. The company has now set its sights on breaking further into the Middle East, United States and Australia.

At the same time, Hainsworth is aiming to increase the amount of business it does in China by capitalising on the phenomenal growth in snooker and pool in that country. The Hainsworth Match cloth is already seen on many tables in China, but it is hoping further product innovation will help it to conquer a greater share of the market.

Hainsworth is headed up by Managing Director Tom Hainsworth and fellow directors Adam and Rachel Hainsworth – the 7th generation of the family-run business – as well as Sales Director Diane Simpson and Operations Director Graham Hutton. The company, which had a turnover last year of £14 million, employs 190 people at its 250,000sq ft mill in Pudsey.

Tom Hainsworth said, "We are hugely proud of our history and our prestigious connections with Royalty in this country and in countries around the world. The Diamond Jubilee celebrations will be watched by billions of people across the globe and it gives everyone associated with our business tremendous pride to know that Hainsworth cloth is on parade."

"We also thought it was fitting that we should pay our own special tribute with the production of a commemorative Jubilee throw having recently launched our own consumer lifestyle range Scarlet & Argent."

Tom added, "We are extremely proud of our history and everything we have achieved as a company during the past two centuries, but our business strategy going forward is about harnessing the best of our heritage with the best in modern manufacturing, technology, sales and marketing."

For more information about Hainsworth and their product range, please visit: www.hainsworth.co.uk

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