On Thursday 17th November 2015, we visited Wyedean Weaving Co. Ltd
Wyedean has been in Howarth for over 50 years producing “Uniforms – Accoutrement/Accessories”. Basically, if it appears on a uniform – buttons, badges, epaulettes, sashes, medal ribbons etc. it’s probably been manufactured or supplied by Wyedean as one of its 10,000 stock items. Even the Royal Family wear accoutrement at events such as the Queen’s Birthday parade and Trooping of the Colour – supplied by Wyedean.
The company is a major supplier to the MOD, the UN and exports to 60 countries’ military and security services. Wyedean has over 100 fabric processing machines producing narrow fabric for medal ribbons, uniform braiding, naval cap badges and much besides. They still use Jacquard looms which can take as long as 2 ½ hours to set up just to run for ½ hour.
