M Wright & Sons is delighted to announce that Managing Director George Wright has been awarded the Worshipful Company of Weavers Silver Medal for 2027, recognising his outstanding contribution to the textile industry.
The Silver Medal is awarded annually by the Worshipful Company of Weavers to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to textiles, particularly within the woven textile industry. Previous recipients have included senior figures from across UK textile manufacturing and weaving.
For George, the award is also recognition of the wider team and the specialist textile manufacturing capability that continues at M Wright & Sons today.
“I am overjoyed to accept this award, and I really must emphasise that it is not just recognition for me, but also for all the skill, innovation and capability of the entire team at M Wright & Sons Ltd.”
A proud moment for British narrow fabric manufacturing
There is another particularly interesting aspect to the award.
George noted that, looking at previous recipients, this appears to be the first time that the narrow fabrics sector has been represented since John Griffith received the honour in 1979.
That makes the award especially significant for a part of the UK textile industry that often sits behind the finished product but plays an important role in some extremely demanding applications.
Narrow woven fabrics include webbings, tapes, bindings and specialist woven structures engineered for specific mechanical and environmental requirements.
At M Wright & Sons, these products are manufactured for sectors including aerospace, defence, industrial fall protection, medical, automotive, sports and leisure, and heavy industry.
In many of these applications, the textile is not simply decorative or secondary. Its strength, elongation, abrasion resistance, heat resistance or long-term durability can contribute directly to how the finished system performs.
More than 160 years of textile manufacturing in the UK
M Wright & Sons was founded in 1860 and remains a family-run specialist textile manufacturer based in Quorn, Leicestershire.
Over more than 160 years, both the materials being woven and the applications for them have changed enormously.
Traditional fibres now sit alongside advanced technical yarns such as aramids, UHMWPE and other high-performance materials, while modern narrow fabrics can be engineered for demanding environments involving high loads, heat, flame, chemicals, abrasion and other performance requirements.
The underlying principles of weaving, however, remain remarkably consistent: selecting the right material, designing the correct construction and controlling the manufacturing process so that the finished textile performs as intended.
Today, M Wright & Sons combines that manufacturing heritage with modern design, weaving, yarn processing, dyeing, finishing, printing and in-house testing capabilities.
The company also continues to invest in the development of bespoke textile solutions, working with engineers, designers and OEMs where standard products cannot meet the required performance.
Technical textiles and the future of UK manufacturing
The UK textile industry has changed considerably over the past several decades, but specialist manufacturing and technical textiles remain areas where knowledge, engineering capability and manufacturing experience matter.
Modern woven textiles increasingly form part of wider advanced manufacturing supply chains, particularly in sectors where materials are expected to deliver measurable performance rather than simply appearance.
For M Wright & Sons, that includes safety-critical and performance-driven applications ranging from aerospace and defence to fall protection, industrial equipment and medical products.
The company’s quality management system is certified to EN 9100:2018, technically equivalent to AS9100D, as well as ISO 9001:2015, covering the design, manufacture and supply of narrow rigid and elastic fabrics across aerospace, safety, military, medical, industrial and other applications.
George’s 2027 Silver Medal therefore represents both an individual achievement and recognition of the specialist skills that continue to exist within British textile manufacturing.
As George puts it:
“It is not just recognition for me, but also for all the skill, innovation and capability of the entire team at M Wright & Sons.”
From everyone at M Wright & Sons, congratulations George — and a well-deserved recognition of a career spent contributing to the UK textile industry.