Focus, leadership and collaboration are three vital components of a successful business the Courier Business Conference will hear later this month.
Jean-Christophe Granier, better known as JC, joint managing director of Kirriemuir based specialist textile manufacturer J&D Wilkie, will appear at the inaugural conference at The Space in Dundee on June 18.
J&D Wilkie has manufacturing facilities in Scotland, China and India and has recently invested £2 million in equipment, supported by significant global growth in both turnover and profits.
The investment is focused on delivering efficiency gains and productivity increases which the business will see the benefit from in future years.
Mr Granier said: “The business has moved a long way in recent years, and much of this is down to a laser-like focus on advanced textile technology across a range of sectors including oil and gas, flooring and air filtration.
“We have not diversified as such, but have concentrated on nurturing our core markets and strong leadership meant that we took the decision to stay at the forefront of utilising the very latest textile technology.”
Angus is also key to the future of the 151 year-old firm.
Mr Granier said: “We are very proud to be based in Angus, and be part of the community, and whatever plans we have moving forward, Angus remains at the heart of them.
“We have always been at the cutting edge of textile technology in an industry that goes back millennia, and collaboration is very important to us – we embrace it.
“Collaboration is integral with the workforce, and we want to take our colleagues and the community on the J&D Wilkie journey.
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“This also means that we can take advantage of the broad range of knowledge and expertise that we have in the group, to adapt and change technology and manufacturing processes to meet the requirements of our customers.”
The company also does not compete on price, but looks closely at the requirements and needs of the customers, going beyond specifications to deliver a product that the customer actually needs.
Mr Granier added: “This goes back to our collaborative approach, and by engaging with the end users along with our customers, we are better placed to deliver solutions to the challenges our customers face – sometimes customers have come to us without really knowing what they wanted, and we have been able to formulate solutions for them.”
J&D Wilkie also supply specialist military textiles including radar camouflage products and infra-red camouflage fabrics.
Mr Granier added: “We are working with existing and new customers to understand what their needs are and provide them with the answers.
“In the past we were weavers, but today we are a manufacturer of advanced textile technology who weaves, and the company’s market leading products continue to give opportunities in new markets and with both existing and new customers.”
The conference has a theme of inspiring success.