055 – Lance Mitchell, Mitchell Interflex – The Future of the UK Woven Textile Industry

Lance Mitchell from weavers Mitchell Interflex discusses the promising future of the UK woven textile industry.

Lance’s family business was established in 1907, and now has a fifth general family member working for them. From a picturesque mill dating back to 1786 in the Lancashire/Yorkshire borders, Mitchell Interflex were once weavers of striped deckchair fabric. They now weave a multitude of fabrics from all kinds of raw materials. As Lance says “If you’ve got a loom, you can weave anything.”

The UK textile industry produces £9 million of textiles every year. Lance shares his knowledge of the industry and his thoughts on its future.

In this episode Lance discusses:

• The size and vast nature of the modern woven textile industry, including technical fibres from carbon fibre to artificial turf
• The importance of investment for the future
• The need to change the perception of careers in the textile industry
• How the industry is progressing by diversifying into new yarns, raw materials and final products
• Where the next opportunities may come from

More about Mitchell Interflex

Mitchell Interflex will be exhibiting at Make it British Live! Meet them there on 29 & 30 May at Business Design Centre, London.

Shownotes for this episode: www.makeitbritish.co.uk/055

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