| The chief executive of parent group Low & Bonar, Paul Forman, said further capital spending on the St Salvador Street site would be made as the operation was “a big profit contributor to the group, a successful business.”
Almost 200 employees work at Bonar’s converted former jute mill complex in St Salvador Street, involved in the production of yarns for backings for premium carpets and artificial grass surfaces.
The synthetic grass produced in Dundee has attracted customers from around the globe and the surfaces are now widely used in situations from football pitches and tennis courts to ski slopes.
Low & Bonar recently announced the acquisition of Belgian grass yarn company Xirion. Mr Forman said the new acquisition was complementary to production in Dundee and in China and used slightly different technology.
Low & Bonar, which was based in Dundee for many years until it switched its HQ to London five years ago, last week announced a drop in interim pre-tax profits to £3.9 million, compared with £5.7 million for the same period last year.
However, despite the dip, turnover jumped from £94.7 million to £110.5 million for the first half.
At the time of the figures announcement, Low & Bonar said it is selling its plastics division to a subsidiary of the Icelandic investment concern Atorka Group for £25.75 million.
Mr Forman said today money from the sale will be invested in the yarns and fabrics and flooring divisions.
Although specific levels of investment were not yet known, there would be spending at the artificial grass production sites in Dundee, Belgium and China.
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