Major textile employer delays Dundee relocation amid ‘difficult trading conditions’

A major Angus employer has delayed its planned move to Dundee because of “difficult trading conditions”.

Textile manufacturer Wilkie had planned to relocate its factories in Kirriemuir and Forfar to the Michelin Innovation Parc in Dundee, but the move has now been postponed by at least a year.

Despite the delay, the company still aims to create 600 jobs at the site of the former tyre factory.

Wilkie has been based in Kirriemuir for 160 years. The firm announced last year that it would move its manufacturing operations to the Michelin site in Dundee, but trading difficulties have forced it to slow the timeline.

Wilkie factory manager John Reid said the company had faced a number of challenges in its global markets.

He told STV News: “There’s been a global slowing down of our industrial textile market across the world.

“We’ve had complications trading in America, alot of instability there and a couple of internal challenges as well. All of that has served to impact on our top line which means we’ve slowed the move down, so we’re still coming, we’re still committed to Dundee.

“It’s just going to take a bit longer.”

The firm now plans to move its warehouse operations to Dundee in October, with the Forfar factory expected to follow next spring.

The Kirriemuir operation is anticipated to relocate in 2028.

Wilkie is the major shareholder in the Michelin Innovation Parc. Once fully up and running, the firm will take over 30,000 square metres – half of the former tyre plant.

Reid said the development was already bringing significant economic benefits to the city.

“There are now 257 jobs on the site and it’s the home for 27 different companies so that’s a huge success and it’s a massive thing for Dundee,” he said.

“We aim to put the 850 jobs back into this site and we will do that.”