Salisbury-based carpet manufacturer, Wilton Carpets has invested in advanced loom technology that is expected to increase production capacity by 25% and allow the business to expand into new international markets.
Established in 1619, Wilton Carpets designs and weaves a range of high quality carpets for hospitality and leisure venues such as hotels and pubs across the UK, Europe and North America.
The business provides a bespoke service, allowing clients to design their own carpets. To increase weaving speeds, it needed to buy the latest carpet loom technology.
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The new kit is the first of its kind in the UK and will transfer electronic designs to the carpets, speeding up production by 50% and eliminating yarn waste.
Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking is the long-term banking partner to Wilton Carpets, and relationship manager, Mike Bilson introduced the business to the bank’s Commercial Finance team, which provided a hire purchase facility to buy the kit without affecting its day-to-day cash flow.
The company used the bank’s trade finance products to import the new machinery, and also uses them to manage risk when exporting its own products overseas.
The company currently has an annual turnover of £8.7m and employs 106 staff in Wilton, Salisbury. The finance package will allow the business to expand in the UK and to new parts of Europe and America.
Chief executive, MacAdam Sprint commented: “We’re committed to enhancing our established brand and further building our reputation for providing high quality service to our clients.
“There’s an increased demand for high quality British products and we’re proud to be able to supply our heritage brand overseas as well as to clients in the UK.
“We’ve enjoyed a continued relationship with Lloyds Bank and we’re pleased that the team has helped us to make a giant leap forward in our production process.”
Stuart Williams, regional manager at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, added: “Wilton Carpets is a well-known business that has successfully used trade and asset finance to enhance its long-term growth plans, allowing the business to manage risk when exporting its products and buy new equipment while spreading payments out over an agreed term.
“We’re committed to supporting small to medium sized businesses like Wilton Carpets, and since the start of 2011, we have grown our lending to SMEs by 25% net, while the market has contracted by 13%.”
