We are on the crest of a wave after completing our largest-ever cruise ship project.

Classed as the world’s best family location, Icon of the Seas set sail for the first time last weekend (27th January) on a seven-day voyage in the Caribbean.

This game-changing cruise ship from Royal Caribbean International is 365 metres long, is 250,800 gross tons, and has a capacity of 5,610 guests and 2,500 crew. It also features over 55,000sqm of bespoke carpets designed and manufactured by Ulster Carpets.

Rachel Guy, Contract Sales Director for Marine at Ulster Carpets, explained, “Icon of the Seas has been making headlines all over the world and we are very proud to have played a part in this amazing cruise ship.

“As a project, it challenged our design, planning and production teams like never before, but the final results demonstrate our ability to create unique designs and luxury carpets. This is why cruise ships, casinos and hotels around the world turn to us first for their bespoke carpets and rugs.”

Featuring eight distinct ‘neighbourhoods’, the first Icon Class ship has 2,805 staterooms, 20 decks, 7 pools, and 40 different venues to drink and dine in!

Our Designers, based in our headquarters in Portadown, Northern Ireland and our London Design Studio, created over 75 different designs to match the distinctive design and style of each area.

“Our average project would encompass around 20 different design schemes, so the Icon of the Seas profile was very different to complete at one time,” added Rachel.

“Our Planners also had to deal with an extra level of intricacy in some areas of the cruise ship and the entire project placed a lot of pressure on our production team. However, despite the extra challenges, we were still able to deliver the same level of unrivalled service we offer our customers all over the world.

“We are delighted with the final results as they demonstrate the unique qualities and skills that Ulster Carpets are renowned for globally.”

CLICK HERE to read more details of this project.

The winner of the Northern Ireland Office’s Platinum Jubilee design competition and Minister of State for Northern Ireland Conor Burns have returned to Ulster Carpets for the unveiling of a special Platinum Jubilee gift for Her Majesty the Queen from the young people of Northern Ireland.

Dundonald Primary School pupil Emily McMullan (11), was announced as the winner of the competition by Minister of State Conor Burns in June, and met with Ulster Carpets designers to learn how her design was being turned into a special gift for Her Majesty the Queen.

Emily’s design, featuring some of Northern Ireland’s most iconic landmarks such as Samson and Goliath in Belfast and the North Coast’s Giant’s Causeway, was woven into a rug by Ulster Carpets’ expert team, and unveiled by Emily and Minister of State Conor Burns at the manufacturing company’s Portadown headquarters on Tuesday 23 August.

Emily’s postcard to the Queen was chosen from over 2000 colourful and creative entries, with primary schools across Northern Ireland offered the opportunity to take part in a unique design competition as part of this year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The specially designed Jubilee rug will be delivered to Her Majesty the Queen as a gift from the children of Northern Ireland in her Jubilee year and Emily will also receive her own copy of the rug as a lasting memory of the important role that she has played in helping Her Majesty celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.

Speaking about seeing the rug, competition winner Emily McMullan said:

“It’s amazing to see all of the places that remind me of home being made into a gift for Her Majesty the Queen. I still can’t believe that something I designed in art class is now being delivered to the Queen!

“It has been great learning from the designers at Ulster Carpets about how they turn art into rugs and carpets. It is something that I will never forget and I think I would like to be a designer in the future.”

Speaking after the visit, Minister of State Conor Burns said:

“It seems like only a few weeks ago when I was on the phone to Nick from a primary school in Bournemouth. I told him I’d had an idea and asked him to tell me honestly if it was crazy. Thankfully Nick and his team at Ulster Carpets are as open minded as they are creative. Nick said let’s do it. So the Platinum Jubilee Rug Competition was conceived.

“Little did I imagine then that it would be embraced so wholeheartedly by Northern Ireland’s young people. Yet the entries flooded in – over 2000 from schools of every kind in every county. Emily, her fellow finalists and indeed every child who entered can be incredibly proud of their designs.

“They have captured the natural and built wonder of this amazing place. Today I have seen the finished product and it is beyond my wildest dreams. We asked the young people to design a rug on the theme ‘a postcard from Northern Ireland’. What they did and Ulster carpets have produced is literally a gift fit for the Queen.

“I am bursting with pride in what these wonderful young people – the future of Northern Ireland – have done and I thank them sincerely.”

Group Managing Director of Ulster Carpets Nick Coburn said:

“It has been a great privilege to be involved in the NIO’s Platinum Jubilee design competition and to have the honour of manufacturing a rug for Her Majesty the Queen, particularly in the same year as we received the Royal Warrant.

“The designs created by schoolchildren from across Northern Ireland demonstrate the immense artistic talent that we have in our country. As we look to the future, it is reassuring to know that Ulster Carpets can transform this potential into the carpet designers of the future.”

Ulster has been recognised for green leadership, achieving Silver in the 2021 NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey organised by Business in the Community.

The Survey, sponsored by Moy Park and supported by Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, recognises and rewards organisations that are going above and beyond their legal requirements to improve their environmental impacts and better manage their resources and provides a roadmap for improvements.

Of the 113 organisations from a range of sectors who measured and reported their environmental impacts, Ulster are the only textiles company in NI to take part.

Eddie Ruddell at Ulster Carpets, said: “As a responsible manufacturer, we recognise the importance of sustainability and environmental protection. The NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey was an opportunity to have this commitment independently verified and we will use this result to set our next targets. Our ultimate aim is to attain Platinum level and we are confident that our long-term strategic plan will help us achieve this.”

Managing director of Business in the Community, Kieran Harding, added: “The Survey is an important comparison tool and a way for organisations to not only be recognised for their environmentally sustainable efforts, but also to identify areas where they can improve. It also serves to highlight key environmental areas they need to be thinking about for the future. I want to congratulate and thank all firms that have stepped forward to take part in the Survey, and report on their environmental practices.”

You can read more about our commitment to the environment here: https://ulstercarpets.com/contract/impact-on-the-environment/

Thank you to the Belfast News Letter and Portadown Times for highlighting this recent achievement in green leadership.

Sports Awards Sponsorship

Ulster is proud to be the Headline Sponsor for the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Senior Sports Awards 2022.

“Organised by the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Sports Forum in association with the Council, the annual awards recognise the wealth of sporting talent in the borough and celebrate the achievements of those who have excelled in their chosen sport, as well as recognising the invaluable contribution from our coaches and volunteers.”

At Ulster, we have always had a deep-rooted relationship with sport, and it is great to be associated with something that recognises the achievements of local sportspeople.

At the launch of the awards, our Managing Director, Nick Coburn said, “Since the company was established, our ethos has been to support our local community in any way that we can.  Sport plays such an important role in bringing people together from all walks of life and in instilling values such as fairness, discipline, perseverance and respect, values we also admire in our employees.  We are very much looking forward to celebrating the achievements of our sports stars at the ABC Senior Sports Awards.”

The awards will take place on Thursday 3 March 2022 at the Belmont House Hotel, Banbridge. In the meantime, nominations are open online until Friday, December 31st at 5 pm.

If you’d like to nominate, go to https://www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/resident/abc-sports-forum/#sportsawards

For more information on the awards and our sponsorship, click here.

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SUPPORTING PEACE AND DEMOCRACY

Ulster Carpets is supporting a prestigious new Fellowship programme by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building.

Our Managing Director, Nick Coburn, is on the Fellowship’s Advisory Board and he recently joined business, political and civic leaders at Stormont to launch the new programme. Nick was also part of a panel discussion exploring the Spirit of Possibility along with Belfast Lord Mayor, Kate Nicholl, UN Youth Delegate, Tara Grace Connolly, and FinTru CEO Darragh McCarthy.

The aim of the fellowship programme is to support, develop and build the capacity of 24 mid-career leaders in civic society, business, and politics in Northern Ireland.

“Ulster Carpets was established to create jobs towards the end of the 1930’s Depression and this is another step in that journey,” explained Nick. “We don’t see Ulster Carpets as just a business but part of the fabric of our community.

“That ethos has led us to developing links within the community and supporting local ventures. Through this, we have seen the positive impact this has had and, by supporting the work of the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building we believe we can create more optimism and hope for the future.”

The leadership symposium at Stormont is the first step in the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building’s ambitious plans.

The programme aims to strengthen democratic institutions and ensure that current and future political and civic leaders in Northern Ireland are best placed to lead us into the next decade.

The Fellowship is delivered by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building (CDPB), working with key stakeholders and facilitators from the business sector and leading academic institutions. As well as Ulster Carpets, the programme is supported by Allstate NI, Devenish, FinTrU, Fujitsu NI, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

For more information on their work, visit https://democracyandpeace.org/

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