This week I’m bringing some very sad news - that the UK’s only cotton spinning mill, English Fine Cottons, which brought cotton spinning back to Greater Manchester in 2018, has very sadly gone into administration.
In case you don’t know about the history of English Fine Cottons, it was set up by the technical textile spinners Culimeta-Saveguard, who invested £4.8m of its own money, £2m of which was a loan from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to regenerate a former Victorian cotton mill and install new technology to create luxury yarn. A further £1m was awarded as a grant by the N Brown Textile Growth Programme.
English Fine Cottons was the start of something very exciting in UK manufacturing, and for this to have happened is tragic. The collapse into administration is caused by the parent group Culimeta-Saveguard going down, and unfortunately that has taken the cotton spinning down with it. Something needs to be done to save our only cotton spinning mill, otherwise this is history repeating itself.
So today's episode is a remastered version of a visit that I did to English Fine Cottons in 2019, along with an interview with Andy Ogden, who was the general manager at the time.
122 – The Importance of Quality – Maria Grachvogel
121 – An update on PPE
120 – The Bespoke English Shirt Maker – Emma Willis, Emma Willis London
119 – Are you seeking more UK-made products?
118 – Supplying the UK Knitwear Industry – David Williams, Knit Design Centre
117 – Pivoting your business to manufacture PPE – Paul Noble, Specialised Canvas
116 – Where are we on PPE?
115 – Does your business need a PLM system? Lucy Blackley, BombyxPLM
114 – PPE – can we make it in the UK?
113 – The History of Harris Tweed – Ruth Masson, Harris Tweed Hebrides
112 – How you can help manufacturers at this difficult time
111 – Going Virtual
110 – How the coronavirus impacts supply chains – and what we can learn from it
109 – Protecting your design rights – Dids MacDonald OBE, ACID
108 – Lingerie Manufacturing in the UK – Steff McGrath, Something Wicked
107 – Silk Weaving in Suffolk – Laura Gore, Vanners
106 – How to print sustainably on wool – Nick Morley, Faering
105 – The Making of Pantherella Socks – Justin Hall, Pantherella
104 – How we can solve the skills issue post-Brexit – Tamara Cincik, Fashion Roundtable
103 – What does a manufacturer include in a cost price?
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