Camira Acquires Holdsworth Transport Fabrics Business
December 7, 2007
MIRFIELD, WEST YORKSHIRE, United Kingdom – Two of the biggest names in the UK transport interiors sector have joined forces to create a major supplier of mass passenger transportation fabrics.
Camira Fabrics has acquired from Hanson Partners and St James Securities the business and trading assets of John Holdsworth & Co., a well-known producer of wool-based seating fabrics for the bus, coach, rail and ferry sectors.
Described as a "strategic partnership", the deal, for an undisclosed sum, sees the creation of a new company, Holdsworth Fabrics, within the Camira Group. A Camira spokesman said the group is working together with the Hanson St James staff to "capitalize on market opportunities", while the Holdsworth brand will be reinvigorated and repositioned.
Manufacturing will remain at Holdsworth's Siddal, Halifax, UK, works under the name of Hebble Valley Weaving, and all 150 employees will be retained. The new weaving company will fulfill all manufacturing contracts for Camira, but also plans to operate as a commission weaver and actively source new business outside the group.
Already a leading supplier of contract fabrics for such end-uses as offices, healthcare, education, cinemas, auditoria and airports, in 2003 Interface Fabrics (as Camira was then known) acquired British Furtex Fabrics to take the company into high-performance plush moquettes for transport and doubled its turnover in two years.
Other Camira products include coordinating trims for walls and ceilings, curtains, antimacassars (small pieces of cloth placed over the backs or arms of chairs), luggage racks and interior panels.
Founded in 1974 as Camborne Fabrics, the company returned to independent UK ownership in April 2006 following a management buyout from US-based Interface, one of the world's largest manufacturers of floorcoverings, which acquired Camborne in July 1997, renaming it Interface Fabrics a year later. In October 2006, Camira opened a new weaving facility in Ariogala, Lithuania, with an investment of around $4.4 million. The plant is believed to account for some 30 percent of group fabric production.
Over the past 18 months, Camira has enjoyed sales growth of more than 10 percent with sales forecast to reach $83 million in 2007. Meanwhile, the Holdsworth acquisition could boost turnover to around $103 million, with the transportation interiors sector poised to account for 50 percent of group sales within a few years. John Holdsworth was founded in Halifax in 1822 making it the longest-standing UK company specializing in high-quality, wool-rich moquette fabrics for passenger transport applications.
In August 2005, following six generations of Holdsworth family ownership, the company was acquired by Hanson St James, a diverse private group with expertise in textiles and property development.
James Holdsworth's current sales are understood to be around $21-25 million across more than 40 countries. With subsidiaries in the USA and Australia, its transportation fabrics are manufactured, for example, for some of the biggest bus operators in the UK, including First Group, Stagecoach and Arriva, as well as for London Underground and mainline trains, as well as the Docklands Light Railway.
Overseas, Holdsworth has supplied prestige rail projects including the Paris Metro Line 1, Bangkok Airport Express, MAV Hungary Intercity trains and Thurbo trains in Switzerland. Fabrics can be supplied with innovative vandal-resistant, stain-resistant or antimicrobial treatments.
Camira Group managing director Paul Goodall commented: "We are tremendously excited about the opportunity to develop such a famous brand with a rich heritage and we are confident that our proven formula of service, quality and ongoing product innovation will bring even wider worldwide appeal.
"We are passionate about providing first-class textile solutions and are looking forward to developing a future-proof business for the benefit of existing and new customers in the transportation market sector."
John Simpson, managing director of John Holdsworth & Co., said the deal would ensure an economy of scale with one management team led by Goodall.
Camira Fabrics has acquired from Hanson Partners and St James Securities the business and trading assets of John Holdsworth & Co., a well-known producer of wool-based seating fabrics for the bus, coach, rail and ferry sectors.
Described as a "strategic partnership", the deal, for an undisclosed sum, sees the creation of a new company, Holdsworth Fabrics, within the Camira Group. A Camira spokesman said the group is working together with the Hanson St James staff to "capitalize on market opportunities", while the Holdsworth brand will be reinvigorated and repositioned.
Manufacturing will remain at Holdsworth's Siddal, Halifax, UK, works under the name of Hebble Valley Weaving, and all 150 employees will be retained. The new weaving company will fulfill all manufacturing contracts for Camira, but also plans to operate as a commission weaver and actively source new business outside the group.
Already a leading supplier of contract fabrics for such end-uses as offices, healthcare, education, cinemas, auditoria and airports, in 2003 Interface Fabrics (as Camira was then known) acquired British Furtex Fabrics to take the company into high-performance plush moquettes for transport and doubled its turnover in two years.
Other Camira products include coordinating trims for walls and ceilings, curtains, antimacassars (small pieces of cloth placed over the backs or arms of chairs), luggage racks and interior panels.
Founded in 1974 as Camborne Fabrics, the company returned to independent UK ownership in April 2006 following a management buyout from US-based Interface, one of the world's largest manufacturers of floorcoverings, which acquired Camborne in July 1997, renaming it Interface Fabrics a year later. In October 2006, Camira opened a new weaving facility in Ariogala, Lithuania, with an investment of around $4.4 million. The plant is believed to account for some 30 percent of group fabric production.
Over the past 18 months, Camira has enjoyed sales growth of more than 10 percent with sales forecast to reach $83 million in 2007. Meanwhile, the Holdsworth acquisition could boost turnover to around $103 million, with the transportation interiors sector poised to account for 50 percent of group sales within a few years. John Holdsworth was founded in Halifax in 1822 making it the longest-standing UK company specializing in high-quality, wool-rich moquette fabrics for passenger transport applications.
In August 2005, following six generations of Holdsworth family ownership, the company was acquired by Hanson St James, a diverse private group with expertise in textiles and property development.
James Holdsworth's current sales are understood to be around $21-25 million across more than 40 countries. With subsidiaries in the USA and Australia, its transportation fabrics are manufactured, for example, for some of the biggest bus operators in the UK, including First Group, Stagecoach and Arriva, as well as for London Underground and mainline trains, as well as the Docklands Light Railway.
Overseas, Holdsworth has supplied prestige rail projects including the Paris Metro Line 1, Bangkok Airport Express, MAV Hungary Intercity trains and Thurbo trains in Switzerland. Fabrics can be supplied with innovative vandal-resistant, stain-resistant or antimicrobial treatments.
Camira Group managing director Paul Goodall commented: "We are tremendously excited about the opportunity to develop such a famous brand with a rich heritage and we are confident that our proven formula of service, quality and ongoing product innovation will bring even wider worldwide appeal.
"We are passionate about providing first-class textile solutions and are looking forward to developing a future-proof business for the benefit of existing and new customers in the transportation market sector."
John Simpson, managing director of John Holdsworth & Co., said the deal would ensure an economy of scale with one management team led by Goodall.
