There is a good chance you have already seen Ulster Carpets’ work. If you saw the coronation of King Charles III, then you saw him walk across a carpet manufactured and laid by Ulster Carpets. It was a great honour, but one that Ulster Carpets was already well positioned to take. The company already had a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II.
“We had been doing work for the royal household and they approached us asking if we would provide the carpet for the coronation,” recalls David Acheson, the company’s Strategic Development Director.
“Everyone was very proud to take part in such a prestigious event,” says Acheson, who confesses he took his shoes off to take the first steps on the Royal Carpet. “There was a great sense of pride, and just feeling that we were respected and valued enough as an organisation to do that. That itself says something to all employees.”
Ulster Carpets is a longstanding, family-led manufacturer of flooring, particularly Axminster and Wilton flooring. It is the largest manufacturer of those types of flooring left in the UK.
“We focus on quality, design, and service particularly. That is why we are still standing when other businesses are not.
Once and Future
With 85 years of proud history behind it, Ulster Carpets is a company that is well-positioned to take part in hugely important traditional ceremonies. Since it was founded by George Walter Wilson it has remained a family company, providing carpets to the residential, hospitality, marine and casino sectors around the world, with officers in London, Paris and the USA.
However, it is also a forward-looking company that invests heavily in its equipment and technology.
In the late 90s, the company invented a different way of weaving which has become a proprietary technology. The firm has spent the last 20 years refining, developing, and adding to that technology to constantly improve it.
“We have added functionality to it, but also invested £8 million in a state-of-the-art package dye house,” Acheson says. “That has increased the flexibility and quality of our dyeing while reducing water and energy usage. We are not afraid to reinvest in technology where it can help meet our goals.”
Ulster Carpets’ loom technology is a strong foundational IP for the business, but it is a foundation the company continues to build on.
“We have proprietary loom technology that lets us offer more colours than most of our competitors, married with our design capability and our customer service,” Acheson explains. “We also control a lot of our own supply chain. We make our own yarn. Being family-owned means that we can take a longer-term view – hence the investments they have made over the years.”
It is that pursuit of new and better ways of doing things that has led Ulster Flooring to acquire the iconic independent British brand, Alternative Flooring. The firm is well-known as an ethically conscious designer and supplier of high-quality flooring with a quirky twist. This brand joins a catalogue of complementary flooring companies within the Ulster Carpets Group.
From Red Carpets to Green Ones
“My specific role over the last few years has been looking to add things to the group that will complement what we already do,” Acheson says. “I am always looking for something a little bit different. Alternative Flooring fits in with that in that it has a similar ethos. The things that are important to that company are important to the Group. It values design, it values customer service, it values quality and sustainability.”
Like many companies, Ulster Carpets has seen sustainability become a key priority for the business moving forward.
“We are on a journey to reduce our CO2 emissions, and there are many parts to that journey,” points out Acheson. “We have been reducing our energy use over several years and been pretty successful, but we are now examining all aspects of the business.”
That is why Ulster has been looking at the materials going into its products, as well as finding ways to minimise transport costs.
“We have recruited talent in the environmental space to help drive the company forward,” Acheson says.
The company has already received recognition in the form of an award for sustainability from Irish News.
Rolling Out Changes
While Ulster Carpets has seen a great deal of history come and go in its 85 years, Acheson is the first to acknowledge that the industry is going through some volatile times right now.
“Cost increases have been an issue in recent times. Competition is fierce, primarily from the Far East where they have a labour cost advantage,” Acheson points out. “The challenge is to convince the customer of the benefits of our focus on investing in our people, sustainability, and the technology in our designs. We need to demonstrate that that is worth paying for. That has always been our challenge.”
People have always been a priority, and one worth paying for, according to Acheson. In his work assessing new businesses, it is always the first thing her looks to.
“I look at how the people in those companies sit with us and look for businesses that have a similar point of view to ours,” Acheson tells us.
As a family company, this is something Ulster Carpets has long understood.
“I think family companies, by their nature, tend to have lower staff turnover,” Acheson argues. “There is more of a family feeling among the employees. We have longer-serving employees with more dedication to the business. It also helps with the retention of skills and knowledge. It all comes down to making people feel valued in the organisation, which requires a multifaceted approach.”
According to Acheson, it is about treating people with respect while giving them opportunities to improve themselves and progress.
“We invest in people, placing them in new roles as our business goals change,” he says. “We pay people well. We offer pensions and private healthcare. It is all about how you reward people, but it is also about how you treat them.”
Acheson plans to continue searching for companies that share that ideal, alongside the other aspects of Ulster Carpets’ culture.
“We will continue to look at suitable acquisitions and if they meet our criteria,” Acheson says. “We are looking to organically grow those businesses that are already in the group. Where we can we are continuing to invest in technology for the core of the business to improve our output, efficiency, and add to our offering.”
