Arville has taken delivery of three new high-spec weaving looms, the first part of a suite of new machinery worth over £1.2m. The rapier-style looms have been shipped from Europe and will contribute to a significant expansion of production capacity at Arville’s Wetherby site. Three more such machines will be added to its factory later this year.

The Picanol OptiMax looms have been installed and are undergoing commissioning by engineers to make them ready for work. Further specialist training will follow on for the dedicated weaving team on the finer points of the use of the new looms before they are fully integrated into the existing fleet of looms, said a press release by Arville.

“The new looms will give a welcome boost to our production of bespoke textiles which are used in demanding applications across a wide range of sectors including defence, aerospace, automotive and pharmaceutical industries,” said Andy Smith, group head of marketing for Arville.

“We are looking forward to using them to achieve great results, as we continue to develop ever lighter, stronger and more sophisticated fabrics. Together, this investment in new equipment will help us to work towards our goals to grow output and sales revenue by some 20 per cent – a significant increase in what we can do.”

Recent years have seen Arville experience record levels of successive double-digit growth and the planned investment will help to keep the business growing at a pace with customer demand. Arville’s strategic aim is to position the business as a ‘best-in-class’ specialist in the design, weaving, finishing, coating and fabrication of technical textiles. (PC)