A Royal Visit
Ulster Carpets was delighted to welcome The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall for a tour of their Portadown headquarters on 24th May 2016. The Royal couple stopped off as part of their 3 day visit to Northern Ireland to learn more about local manufacturing.
Company MD, Nick Coburn and Chairman Edward Wilson accompanied their Royal Highnesses around the factory explaining the journey a carpet makes from fleece to floor. During a visit to the company’s R&D department, The Prince of Wales was particularly interested to learn about the company’s revolutionary PSYLO™ weaving technology which won the Queens Award for Innovation in 2006. The Prince who regularly champions UK industry saw, first hand, how technological advancements allowed Ulster to keep manufacturing within the UK, while so many of their competitors have moved abroad.
Ulster Carpets was also able to give the Royal visitors a preview of their new Dyehouse & Energy Centre which is currently under construction. The Prince of Wales has been a long time advocate of sustainability and has spoken many times about environmental issues and so was pleased to learn about Ulster’s strict environmental policy. The Prince was also impressed by how the new building will increase the company’s energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint. The Duchess of Cornwall, a keen horsewoman was particularly interested to learn how much of the waste materials from manufacturing were recycled for use in the equestrian business.
Mr Edward Wilson commented “My father started this company in the 1930s with the aim of providing worthwhile employment to the local area. We are extremely proud that over 75 years later we are still in production on the same site and many generations of the same families have worked here. The Royal Highnesses congratulated us on all of our successes and we were very honoured to host this visit”
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