THE WEAVING GROUP
The Biannual Conference of the Weaving Group
4th October 2018
Cedar Court Hotel, Huddersfield

The biennial conference attracted over 200 delegates and speakers and we were delighted to be approached to weave the banners to promote the event.

The conference is an opportunity to meet up with the industry professionals for varied presentations from the machinery makers and key topical speakers.

From woolens to airbags, linen to carbon fibre, industrial fabrics to apparel and from the four corners of the UK; this is the one conference and dinner where the various weaving sectors come together to talk about common issues; including Brexit this year!

Jeff Robins and Chris Catlow of S Dawes Weaving at the conference

Managing Director Stephen Shepherd (right) with Jeff Robins

Joanna Brockbank, Textile Designer at Dawes, (left) with Kate Hills from ‘Make it British’.

The layout of the banner was created by Ben Brown of Alfred Brown Ltd. The yarn was supplied by Burberry, and then Joanna Brockbank our designer at S Dawes Weaving translated the design into weave, it was then woven at Greenhill Mill in Colne.

This was quite a challenge for Joanna as there were only around 10 working days to turn this project into the finished product.  Joanna worked on the design, added our logo and decided on a construction based on the yarn counts supplied in by Burberry. The banners were then cut and sewn by Herbert Parkinson; it was a joint effort of four companies.

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June 2017 sees further investment by S Dawes Weaving. We have acquired a brand new Bonas single end jacquard machine, this new innovative Jacquard machine is one of only three in Europe.

This investment forms part of our capital investment of over 80K this year, and continues our commitment to invest in the latest technology which will enable us to maximise our productivity, design capability and efficiency. Two major new clients are working with us and are keen to develop new ranges of fabrics in the UK. With this in mind, a further Jacquard machine has been purchased and is due for delivery in September 2017, this again will expand our capability and allow us to produce more niche market high value fabrics.

New Staff

Two new members of staff have been appointed to strengthen our busy planning and design team. Our clients are looking forward to working with us on some innovative and inspiring new designs using some of the latest developments in yarn technology, including the weaving of expensive fibres such as silk, 100% cashmere, and machine washable super soft wools plus many more of the world’s finest luxury fibres. The two new jacquard machines will be invaluable in helping us to create some amazing new fabrics for the 2018/19 collections.

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Our new vehicle wrap is looking good we think? It’s certainly added some colour to our boring plain white van. Thought we’d make a splash with some colourful artwork, and at the same time, get our message across that the textile industry is still alive and thriving in East Lancashire.

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The team from S Dawes Weaving Ltd, again put themselves through the ‘hell’ that is Born Survivor, the 10K Cross Country Obstacle Challenge . This is no average mud run or fun day run, it’s tough, this is the ultimate military obstacle course, not for the faint hearted.

Well done to Chris, Tom, Glen, Jeff and Paulina, they all finished the course together, a bit battered and bruised, but they survived in style!

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We are now enjoying the benefits of investing in a state of the art Karl Mayer warping machine. The new machine has been installed for a couple of months and is already proving to be of huge benefit to us and our customers.

To read about this latest capital investment, please follow this link to an article published in the local press and in other Business publications.

https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/northwest/textile-manufacturer-secures-funding-for-new-machine

Shown here are a few images of the new warping machine in action, showing the type of complicated warps we can now create.  (One of the images shows Thomas, the son of Managing Director Stephen Shepherd, who has joined the business from his engineering background to run the new machine and learn the business.)

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Stephen Shepherd (bottom right), with Dennis Mendoros, chairman of the Vision Board , and some of the other winners.

Congratulations to the team at S Dawes Weaving on being named the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ at the Pendle Business Awards 2016. The event was held at the Fence Gate on Thursday 9th June, it was a great evening and we were delighted to win our category.

Due to our strategy of investment for growth, since moving to modern more suitable premises we have attracted major new customers. We have employed 1 more person this year to run the new Karl Mayer sample warping machine.

Commercial success is evident, we’ve seen an Increase in sales, due to improved design capability (new cad system), and our investment in the Karl Mayer machine, which involves a new mezzanine floor and other structural adaptations is set to create further benefits to the business and our customers. This type of investment supports product development and innovation of product, through design.

The impact on our supply chain will be positive. We will be placing orders for an increased level of raw material with our UK supplier(s).  There is an increased chance that suppliers will more easily be able to get their yarn and finishing innovations to end users more easily with our support. We are keen to work with UK suppliers in order to take business from overseas competitors, and to promote and support UK manufacturing.

Long term focus is to continue to invest in technology and product innovation based on customer demand. To diversify and extend the product portfolio in order to manage risk and to create a healthy UK textile business attracting and supporting jobs within the local area.

Our team – from our talented Designer, to the long serving Weavers and Over Lookers, we have an exceptionally loyal workforce, some have worked for the company all their working lives, long before Stephen took over in 2005. We still have some of the same customers from back then too, as well as lots of new ones. The history of Dawes goes back over 100 years, although there have been 3 or 4 changes of ownership; there is still the feeling that we are continuing the heritage of a long established Lancashire textile company. We have definitely brought the textile industry into the 21^st century; our innovation and expertise have seen us develop new fabrics, weaving with yarns including bamboo and hemp, as well as cotton and viscose.  Considering the number of mills that once employed thousands of textile workers in east Lancashire, we are very proud to be one of the only 2 textile mills still operating in Pendle and this is in part due to our competitive pricing, investment in plant and machinery and textile design technology, as well as the expertise and commitment of the people who make up the S Dawes team.

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