Record turnover for 100-year-old Lancashire textiles business

A Lancashire textiles company that makes a million tea towels a year is marking its centenary with record sales.

Accrington-based Lantex achieved a turnover of £2m in its latest financial report – the highest in its 100-year history.

Now, the company plans to add to its team by recruiting eight staff over the next two years.

Lantex manufactures a range of kitchen and catering textiles. Its output includes tea towels, tote bags, tablecloths, cushion covers, aprons and promotional merchandise. The firm also sells blank fabric to printers and designers.

Chairman David Hardman, whose family have been Lantex shareholders since its early days, said: “Reaching £2m of sales is a fantastic way to celebrate our centenary.

“One hundred years of history is something to be proud of, and we believe we have achieved this landmark by flexibility, assessing what the future holds and keeping costs low.”

He continued: “We are specialists in this textile printing and promotional merchandise sectors, producing over 12,000 units a week, and can turn bespoke orders around very quickly.

“We are also utterly committed to maintaining the balance of nature in all we do, with less than 1% of our raw materials wasted.”

Lantex currently employs more than 30 people, including 14 machinists.

David added: “We’re looking to create eight more jobs over the next two years. We’re proud that 40% of our workforce has been with us for over a decade.”

Managing director John Parker, who joined the business in 1982, commented: “Our production facility is modern and flexible so we can make exactly what customers require. We work together at the design stage and we agree a delivery date.

“In the past decade we’ve invested £230k in training, new plant and machinery and £40k in R&D. The number of employees has increased fourfold over the last 12 years due to demand for more complex products and presentation.”