Capatex, a Basford based manufacturer of technical and industrial textile set up in 1995, has been offered financial support by the Nottingham Technology Grant Fund, known as N'Tech, to help promote its expansion plans.

Gabriel Strauss, the managing director of Capatex, said that the N'Tech grant is a fantastic opportunity for them to identify areas where capital investment is most needed to achieve growth and to satisfy increasing customer demand.

It is the second time the business has secured grants to drive growth – an innovation grant last year helped it launch a new division making products for the medical market.

The investment will ensure the security of supply of certain products where the supply chain is most vulnerable and allow us to become

self-sufficient producers, allowing us to stand out among competitors as being an increasingly vertically-integrated manufacturer.

The company makes a mix of specialist textile products and medical devices and currently has a 24-strong team. After securing a £64,000 grant from a fund that has been set up to help city technology companies to grow. It will recruit an additional five full-time staff.

The company has a number of separate divisions manufacturing specialist industrial textiles and other products. They include agro and geo-textiles used to protect crops and ground, industrial textiles, which can be used for cords, straps and webbing, and its hook-and-loop fasteners.

The N'Tech grant fund was set up by Nottingham City Council after it secured the money from the government's regional growth fund. It has so far agreed 60 grants worth £7 million to businesses based in the city, and is currently looking at a further 25 applications for £2.5 million of backing.

Nottingham is internationally known as an industrial centre for textiles and continues to still operate fantastic, in such advanced technological fields.