A legacy forged in fabrics: Carrington Textiles and Pincroft celebrate 130 years of UK manufacturing

Based in Lancashire, the birthplace of British textiles, at Carrington Textiles and Pincroft we are celebrating in 2021 our 130th anniversary, a great milestone for one of Europe’s largest fully integrated textile processing and finishing operations.

The story of the company dates back to the 19th century when Benjamin Davies from Adlington and brother in law James Eckersley from Duxbury after buying together the Huyton Bleachworks in 1848, started operation of the Pincroft Dyeing and Printing company for bleaching and finishing of fabrics in 1891. Davies and Eckersley were experienced businessmen and fabric bleachers and back in April 1885 they had invented a ‘washing and rinsing machine’ used in bleachworks with a more efficient use of energy and water.

Fast forward a century and in 1998 after joining forces with Carrington Textiles, together we have seen a considerable increase in turnover from €50 million in 1999 to €104 million in 2019, as well as growing our export business extensively breaking into new geographical markets including Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Investment and development have been a key factor for us to become textile giants, with over €45 million invested in new machinery, processes, laboratories, warehousing and sustainable energy projects.

This in turn has driven Carrington Textiles and Pincroft into becoming one of the largest suppliers of workwear, flame retardant, waterproof, defence and sustainable fabrics to some of the biggest companies in the world with increased production of over 15 million metres in 1999 to 55 million metres in 2019.

Achieving the highest standards

By enhancing fabric performance through continuous development in advanced technologies that are carefully implemented with respect to the environment as a priority, we have achieved standards including ISO 50001, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 for energy, quality and environmental management respectively.

Other important certifications also include Oeko Tex that certifies fabrics meet human-ecological requirements, and Bluesign that sets and controls standards for environmentally friendly and safe production.

Proud legacy

Carrington Textiles and Pincroft have not only supplied millions of metres of fabric to armed forces around the world including the UK’s and Dutch Ministries of Defence, the Finnish and Estonian armies and the Royal Oman Police, but also have been a key player during the coronavirus pandemic by supplying more than 4 million metres (and counting) of specialised fabric to the healthcare sector in the UK and mainland Europe.

Helping the community is also a key part of both companies, that’s why in the last 5 years alone over £100,000 have been given to support sports clubs and individuals, hospices, youth centres and students.

John Vareldzis, group CEO says: “Celebrating 130 years in textile manufacturing is not only a testament to our contributions to the UK’s textile movement since the late 1800s, but also to our commitment to continue providing the best quality workwear fabrics.”

As part of our 130 anniversary celebrations we have created a distinctive logo featuring the British Union Jack to represent our proud British legacy and will be sharing our most important milestones on our website and social media.