Belfast Linen Company ensures 007 is dressed to kill

Daniel Craig may not be licensed to kill as the new James Bond in the latest 007 movie, 'Casino Royale', but he is dressed to kill in a linen suit created with fabric provided by a Belfast company.

Textiles firm Belfast Theatrical Linens was recently set up with support from Invest Northern Ireland and despite competition from around the UK and Europe, it won the contract to provide linen for the new Bond movie.

It is one of several contracts the company has recently secured with highly prestigious customers including the English National Opera, the Cirque du Soleil, USA, and La Scala, Milan.

Belfast Theatrical Linens, is a subsidiary of John England Textiles, a local firm which has enjoyed many successes, designing costumes and clothing for major movie productions including 'Mission Impossible 3', 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Harry Potter'.

The company will now use John England’s surplus stock of Irish linen to meet the costume, backdrop and prop needs for TV production and theatre companies, creating seven new jobs in the process.

Donal Durkan, Invest NI’s Director of Life Sciences, says the new company is a good example of how innovation can create jobs even in challenging sectors.

He said: “The local textiles sector has faced increased competition in recent years but Belfast Theatrical Linens has discovered a niche market that it can exploit on a global scale. It has already established a reputation for producing high-quality, bespoke products for customers within very tight time-scales, and has the potential to grow its export sales significantly over the next few years.”

Invest NI’s support is helping the company to market its products through targeted marketing activity including customer visits and the creation of an innovative website to help it increase international sales.

Ryan Saunders, Director of Belfast Theatrical Linens, added: “We have found that production companies are seeking quality linen supplies with innovative designs which are attractive to their image conscious audience. It is a growing market and we’re confident that the quality of our products will ensure that we can capture a significant share of it.”

Invest Northern Ireland has offered Belfast Theatrical Linens £25,954 of support.

(EF/KMcA)