A Co Down company, which specialises in the manufacture of sports and leisure socks, has signed a £1.5 million sterling contract to supply products for distribution throughout the retail trade in the United States. Bridgedale, which employs 90 people at its Newtownards factory, makes socks from natural wool, and from synthetic fibres such as Lycra and Coolmax.

The company announced the contract during an IDB trade mission to the US. It is one of 26 Northern Ireland companies which was visiting Chicago and New York to establish trade links.

Bridgedale's sales manager, Mr Paul Kelly, said it was the company's biggest contract so far in the United States.

"This is an important breakthrough for us," he said. "The US market for outdoor and leisure products is worth around $400 million [£274 million] a year, which makes it the biggest in the world. This contract is the result of three years of intensive market research and product development."

Bridgedale is supplying its range to the Seattle company, Watershed, one of the largest suppliers of leisure goods in the US. Under the terms of the deal, Bridgedale products will now be available in more than 2,000 specialist outdoor sports shops.

"The contract follows extensive market testing in which our products outperformed our competitors in quality, comfort, and durability. It gives us a solid platform in a market which is growing at the rate of around 20 per cent a year," Mr Kelly said.

He said the company was already the brand leader in the European market, in spite of the problems being caused by the strength of sterling, and was aiming to occupy the same position in the United States.

The company secretary, Mr Liam Higgins, said the support from Pex had been very beneficial, and the outlook was very positive.

"We don't knit socks," he said. "We engineer a very technical, high-quality product for the leisure, outdoor, and sports markets."

Bridgedale was bought last January for £1.8 million by the Leicester-based group, Pex plc, Britain's biggest manufacturer of children's socks and tights. It exports socks to 35 countries, including Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Last month its parent company reported pre-tax profits of £248,000 for the first half of this year, on a turnover of £5.3 million.