Cotton spinning revival boost in Manchester after 30 years
A new company has emerged in Manchester, marks the revival of the cotton-spinning line known as “cottonopolis”, after the trade died out in 1985.
Worldwide demand for high quality thread from the new emerging fashion industry has encouraged German backed Culimenta Saveguard to make a£5.8m investment and £2m loan from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, backed by government money to rebuild the supply chain for British luxury clothing makers and in the process creating 100 of jobs. In the past China, Italy, under-cut British mills in the 1970s and 1980s leading to thousands of job losses are now new customers for expensive British clothes and furnishings. A further £1m had been awarded by the NBrown Textile growth programme (TGP), by Lord Alliance a former chairman of NBrown using a government’s regional growth fund.
Anna Soubry, business minister said “There is a global demand for Premium fashion made in the UK and this new mills is all part of a textile revival boosting our manufacturing capabilities.”
Andy Ogden the Company GM said “ We are proud we have won this major government grant to help us make our dream of bringing cotton spinning back where it belongs: the north-west of England. There is a new strong demand for luxury British goods with the ‘made in Britain’ stamp and English Fine Cottons has the pedigree with our root firmly on technical textile manufacturing and we are in the right area to draw a highly skilled workforce”.
The company also operates in Italy and us, and now set up a subsidiary, English Fine Cottons and will occupy refurbished, Victoria mill in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, one of hundreds that spun a century ago.
The UK is the 15th-largest textiles makers in the world and exported £5.5bn worth of clothes in 2013.