Ulster Carpets have always taken its role within the community very seriously supporting many charities and community initiatives since it was founded over 80 years ago. Now is no different, with the company helping in a number of ways during these difficult times.

A £50,000 donation to support front line workers in the local Craigavon Area Hospital, has been made through a trust fund set up by Ulster Carpets. This has purchased over 9,000 bottles of hand sanitiser for hospital staff from local business Frazers who began production of this much needed product.

A further £15,000 donation has also been made by the trust to support the Southern Area Hospice Services in its vital work in the local area. The Southern Area Hospice Services is a charity dedicated to the equitable delivery of specialist palliative care to patients who have Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease and AIDS and to their relatives and carers. Like many charities it has seen its funding drop dramatically over the past few months and this donation will help to ensure these services can continue.

Dr John Wilson, Chairman of Ulster Carpets and Trustee said “The John Wilson Memorial Trust was set up in memory of my late father, one of the five children of George Walter Wilson who founded the company in 1938. My father believed strongly in helping the local community and as a frontline NHS doctor I have seen first hand the devastating effects of the Covid pandemic. I am delighted that both the trust and the company have been able to help and support these vital local services”

Alongside the Trust, Mourne Textiles, sister company of Mourne Weavers who are part of the Ulster Group have been inspired by the nations pictures of rainbows to create a limited edition rainbow scarf, with all the profits going to the Northern Ireland Hospice and Children’s Hospice ‘Now, More than Ever’ emergency appeal. The scarves are individually woven on vintage shuttle looms, sewn and finished on site at their hand weaving workshop at the foothills of the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.

Ulster Carpets are also providing logistical support by collecting and delivering components that are being made across Northern Ireland for the production of Hero Shields for health care workers.

The company is proud to be able to play its part and support its community during these uncertain times.

Read more about the John Wilson Memorial Trust here.

In light of the evolving Coronavirus situation, we want to reassure our customers that we are taking appropriate measures to maintain our high levels of service during what is a challenging time for everyone.

Our manufacturing capabilities, at present, remain unaffected and as a vertically integrated company we are in complete control of our supply chain. This allows us to complete orders as planned and to maintain supplies.

We take great pride in the strong relationships we have with our customers and we will continue to work tirelessly to minimise disruption and help everyone through what is an unprecedented situation.

We will continue to keep you up-to-date with any changes to the current situation. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your sales executive or contact us directly on +44 (0)28 3833 4433

Nick Coburn
Group Managing Director

Ulster Carpets have a proud history as an industry pioneer and a closer look at our workforce reflects that we also lead the way when it comes to gender equality.

Supporting the campaign theme #EachforEqual for International Women’s Day on 8th March, we can point to a history of gender equality that goes right back to the roots of the company.

Formed in 1938, just before the outbreak of the Second World War, Ulster Carpets had to quickly diversify, not just in terms of stopping carpet manufacturing to focus on creating products to help the war effort but also with women taking over the then traditional role of men who were off fighting in the war. This started a process of ensuring employment opportunities for women that has continued over the last 80-plus years.

Today, Ulster Carpets continues to be a standard bearer for equal opportunities. Women make up 40% of the current management team while 76% of the design team – a critical aspect of our success – are women.

Meanwhile, 54% of staff across professional areas of the business – such as sales, technical services, design, finance, IT, customer services, HR and marketing – are female. When combined with the managers and directors of these various departments, the male/female ratio is almost a perfect 50-50 – 49% men and 51% women.

However, the perfect example of how barriers to progression have been removed at Ulster Carpets is demonstrated at the highest level where there is a 50-50 split of men and women on our Operational Board of Directors. That is a significant difference to 20 years ago when there was only one woman on the Board.

As our Personnel Director, Caroline Whiteside, explained, representation at every level of Ulster Carpets has been matched by a commitment to gender equality.

“We’re not required by law to publish a Gender Pay Gap report but we feel it is important to demonstrate our commitment to gender equality,” said Caroline. “We have a record of removing the barriers faced by women in the workplace and offering equal opportunities to all our staff.

“Women taking up managerial and director positions at Ulster Carpets is the norm and we can point to numerous examples of staff who have proved there is no glass ceiling to progression here because of their gender.

“Some started on our hugely successful Graduate Programme while others have worked their way up through various positions in the company. However, regardless of where they started, first and foremost our focus is on recognising an individual’s ability and performance, regardless of gender.”

We are pleased to announce the promotion of two members of staff.

Adrian Maney, who has been with the company for almost 33 years, is now Director – Logistics, Customers & Operational Support. With over 30 years’ experience, Joyce McIvor now becomes our Contract Sales Director for the UK and Ireland.

These appointments are part of our targeted growth strategy.

Jeffrey Vecchiarelli has been appointed as our new Vice President of Design and Marketing in North America.

Jeff will be based at our offices in Marietta, Georgia and will oversee Ulster’s design teams as they create bespoke carpets for the hospitality sector, including hotels, casinos and conference centers across the region.

Jeff has had repeated success leading high level development and design projects within the hospitality industry especially during his tenure at Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Along with his vast experience of aligning a design vision with brand identity, Jeff will use his organizational and analytical skills to support our sales and marketing efforts across North America and collaborate with our diverse customer base that includes leading hotel brands, owners/developers and interior designer firms.

For a closer look at some of our North American projects, CLICK HERE

Project Manager Cara Coburn reached new heights when she took part in a half-marathon and then a trek to Everest Base Camp.

Swapping Ulster’s London office for the most famous mountain in the world, the trip was an adventure every step of the way, including landing at the Lukla Airport – rated as the most dangerous airport in the world due to its short landing strip and mountainous surroundings.

The half marathon took Cara on a ‘Savage Summit’ through the stunning scenery of the Himalayas for one of the most unique races in the world.

Running through the beautiful Shivapuri National Park at altitudes of up to 2,300m, the race saw Cara take on over 1,000m of climbing, some technical descents and a thrilling waterfall crossing as part of a gruelling trial challenge.

But the race was just one aspect of the trip. Cara also took part in vital charity work in Kakani, working alongside villagers on a number of projects connected to the Nepal Impact charity. This work allowed her to see first-hand where the money she raised was being spent and how it was making a difference in the local community.

If all that wasn’t enough, Cara rounded off the trip with an epic 14-day trek to Everest Base Camp.

A massive well done from all at Ulster Carpets!

Ulster Carpets has renewed its commitment to support Youth Rugby in the Province, with a new deal that will run until 2021.

The deal will see Ulster Carpets continue as the named sponsor of Youth Rugby competitions in Ulster, with club games at U14, U16 and U18 level taking place throughout the Province all season and culminate in the Youth Cup Finals day at Kingspan Stadium in May.

As part of their sponsorship activation, Ulster Carpets will continue to run the popular ‘Club of the Month’ award, which rewards local clubs in areas such as good governance and structures, as well as on-field success.

City of Armagh RFC have collected the first award of the new season, in recognition for having the highest player representation on the Ulster U18 Clubs squad (4).

The club have received a bag of Ulster Carpets branded rugby balls for their youth teams and they will also have the opportunity to bring 30 youth players to an Ulster Rugby game at Kingspan Stadium.

Commenting on the renewal of the partnership, Chris Webster, Head of Rugby Development at Ulster Rugby, said: “A flourishing youth rugby environment is absolutely central to our core objectives of growing the game right across the Province, so we are delighted that Ulster Carpets has committed their support for another two years. With their support, we can continue to apply considerable resource into this area to ensure we are providing opportunities for all.

“City of Armagh RFC are a great example of a club who are reaping the rewards of an investment in their youth structures over recent years, which has resulted in success at all levels within the club.

“We are also seeing a growing number of players progressing into the Ulster Academy and senior squad via the youth game, such as Adam McBurney, Joe Dunleavy and Aaron Hall, which is just recognition of the high standard of players in the youth game and is also important in inspiring the next generation of Ulster’s youth players.”

Nick Coburn, Ulster Carpets Group Managing Director and Deputy Chairman, said: “We are delighted to once again renew our successful partnership with Ulster Youth Rugby.

“Both Ulster Carpets and Ulster Rugby believe in having a long-term plan that values the importance of investing and developing talented individuals to be part of a successful team. This partnership reflects Ulster Carpets’ well established tradition of striving to help the local community and it will encourage more young people to participate in active sport.”