KLT takeover German textile business see spiraling position in textile market

Lynn-based KL Technologies has acquired an historic German textile business Bamberger Kaliko with a turnover of €20 million. Mark Littlewood, chief executive of KLT, said that the acquisition would strengthen the firm’s position in the textile market.

Kaliko is a perfect fit with their existing textile businesses, which are already significant suppliers into the industry. They are excited about this further expansion of their textiles business and look forward to working closely with the team in Bamberg to grow the business.

Bamberger Kaliko, founded in 1863, employs 118 staff at its textile finishing plant at Bamberg, just north of Nuremberg in Germany. The company already owns PIL Membranes, which produces membrane systems for garments, footwear and filtration systems, and Barnsley-based Nanoflam, which manufactures textile coating products.

The business specialises in finishing different fabrics and non-woven to high-quality products for book cloth, blind fabrics and backing cloth for abrasives.

It also shares KLT’s environmental ethos, embarking on an energy efficiency programme in 2010 to conserve resources and reduce carbon emissions. At its Estuary Road site, a solar array and wind turbine now provide a substantial amount of the company’s energy needs.

Bamberger Kaliko had been mostly British-owned between 1892 and a management buyout in 2000, and the KLT deal returns the company to British hands.