The Co Armagh textile company R.A. Irwin is investing £3.9 million sterling at its plants in Portadown and Donaghcloney. The money will be used to develop new bedding fabrics for customers in Britain and mainland Europe.

The managing director, Mr Ian Irwin, described it as an important investment for the company.

"Diversification into damask fabrics, a growth area in the European bedding market, will widen our product range, and reduce our dependence on stitch-bonded fabrics," Mr Irwin said.

"We are expanding the Portadown factory to introduce the new jacquard weaving machinery, and we're planning to set up a research and development facility in Donaghcloney. We are also introducing new computer-aided design systems so that we can work more closely with our key customers in the development of new products."

R.A. Irwin was set up in Portadown in 1963 on the site of the old Hamilton Robb linen mill, and employs 119 people producing stitch-bonded bedding fabrics. Another 26 people work in the Donaghcloney plant, which was opened four years ago for the production of non-woven fabrics.

The project is being supported by a grant of almost £250,000 from the IDB. The agency's executive director for the clothing and textiles division, Mr Lawson McDonald, said it was an important diversification for a company which already held a 60 per cent share of the UK market for the stitch-bonded fabrics used for bed and mattress coverings.

"The company is now able to offer customers a comprehensive range of fabrics," Mr McDonald said, "and it is now expanding its design capabilities so that it can provide a one-stop shop for design and manufacture. This will strengthen its versatility and improve its overall competitiveness".