J T Inglis has already undergone substantial growth in recent years, with the workforce increasing from just over 30 in 2000 to the present total of over 130.

TBG has announced that it is spending more than £1 million on three major acquisitions aimed at reinforcing its position as a market leader in the textiles sector.

The group has bought two Bradford-based tent-makers — Bradford Cover and Tent Company Ltd. and Garden Marquees Ltd. — and the assets of Keltex Weaving & Engineering Company Ltd. in Cowdenbeath.

As a result of the Keltex deal, TBG is moving 26 looms from the Fife town to Carolina Port to begin weaving operations there.

The J T Inglis factory complex has also invested in a new dye house.

Inglis — involved in the processing and finishing of water, rot and fire-retardant, canvas-based textiles — has a history in Dundee stretching back to 1917 and became part of the Beal group some eight years ago.

In recent years the company’s products have become increasingly widely known around the world and been applied to an ever-wider range of uses — from protecting horses from the elements in New Zealand to cocoa crops in Ghana.

Events marquees, machine covers for industry and even domed yurt dwellings have been on the list of products.

Clients include the Ministry of Defence.

Its success is all the more remarkable given that in the mid-1990s, prior to TBG’s involvement, the company was close to going out of business.

The growing use of PVC rather than cotton-based products threatened the company’s existence. But the environmentally-friendly nature of cotton has helped to swing the pendulum back in the Dundee company’s favour.

TBG has made a substantial investment in the Inglis’ Riverside Works close to the Tay.

Bradford Cover and Tent is recognised as a specialist in heavy tents for the Scout, Guide and commercial markets and one of the few remaining UK-made tent companies. The acquisition of the company also includes the separate trading division, Relum Camping, supplying a range of dome and tunnel tents for the family camping market.

Garden Marquees has a long-standing pedigree and worldwide reputation for quality and reliability across a wide range of tents and marquees. The firm is also responsible for the new “PuffinHaven” range of smoking shelters, developed as a solution to the public smoking ban currently in place in Ireland and soon to be in Scotland and England.

The acquisition of the Keltex assets and the move to bring weaving production in-house at the Inglis site in Dundee means that the company can lay claim to being one of the few textile firms in Europe with the ability to see through all levels of production.

– from weaving to dyeing, processing and finishing, right through to fabrication and refurbishment.

TBG managing director David Beal has said he is confident that the £1 million-plus acquisitions will build on the group’s strong position at the forefront of the market.

“We have seen considerable growth over the last few years and with these three additional arms to the group we can continue to actively pursue sustainable markets, which will further enhance the group’s reputation and complement our core trade,” he said.