Carpet manufacturer Wilton Carpets has secured a £1.3m funding package from Lloyds Bank that will boost production capacity.

Wilton Carpets said the investment will also allow the business to invest in new technology, including a new high-speed loom, which will help improve energy efficiency processes by cutting power used by 15%, as well as reducing costs and increasing manufacturing capacity by more than 500,000 square meters per year.

Support from Lloyds Bank included asset finance, trade capital import finance and CGFI funding. Lloyds said: “Our relationship with Wilton Carpets has spanned almost 20 years. We’ve provided various types of support over this time, allowing it to invest in its own growth. We’ll continue to be by the side of firms like Wilton Carpets and provide the opportunities for our region to continue growing.”

Alan Whittle, UK sales and marketing director for Wilton Carpet, added: “Wilton Carpets’ traditional looms have been extremely well-maintained by our engineering team and these robust machines have served us well over the decades. However, seven years ago the business recognised that investment in modern high-speed technology would yield us massive productivity benefits and so we installed the first of our state-of-the-art looms.

“We’ve now installed the second loom and the results are transformational. We can now produce carpet more quickly and with more accuracy, while producing less waste. Our factory is transforming the very traditional craft of carpet weaving into an increasingly high-tech and importantly, sustainable activity.”