Prince Charles yesterday officially opened a new manufacturing and warehouse facility at a Ross-shire business known for producing quality home furnishings, textiles and ceramics.
The Duke of Rothesay, as he is known in Scotland, met members of staff at ANTA Scotland, by Fearn, as he walked around the new £500,000 complex.
The company employs about 40 staff at the site – many of them young employees who have been trained since leaving school.
Owners Annie and Lachlan Stewart opened their first shop in London in 1984, but six years later returned home to the Highlands to start producing pottery and textiles – all of which area sourced and made in Scotland.
At the end of his tour the Duke, a patron for The Campaign for Wool, said: “I am very pleased to open this wonderful new factory. I am such an admirer of what you do here and I do hope this factory gives you more scope for all your exports.”
ANTA’s e-commerce manager Heather Robertson also explained that the company set up a new website in September last year, resulting in a 34% growth in product sales in some countries.
She said that ANTA’s product sell as far and wide as the United Arab Emirates and Japan, and that a version of the website will even be ready by the end of next month in Japanese language and currency.
Ms Robertson added: “In terms of local employment we are hugely important. It supports the whole community and certainly with the opening of a new factory, about a dozen more jobs have been created. The important thing is that it’s providing training and skilled labour in the local manufacturing industry.”
Yesterday the Duke spoke firstly with staff in the textiles team as they demonstrated how they make products such as bags, seats and rugs.
The Duke met ceramics decorator Jane Swanson, who has worked for ANTA for 14 years. She said: “He commented on how marvellous it was that we managed to paint such straight lines on the pottery. I said to him it’s down to years of practice.”
Today, the Duke will visit Wick Sheriff Court to mark its 150th anniversary, and a new business in the town which sustainably harvests seaweed on the Caithness coast.
