Guitar firm expands

Guitar firm expands

20 November 2013

A DOWNPATRICK craftsman who has made guitars for some of the world’s top musicians, is planning to expand.

Lowden Guitars produces high-quality, hand-crafted acoustic guitars which are exported world-wide and used by famous artists including Eric Clapton, Foy Vance and Paul Brady.

The firm, which was founded in 1974 by George Lowden, is based at Down Business Park and employs 17 highly skilled craftsmen.

The expansion plans will mean the doubling of the company’s production space, investment in new specialist manufacturing equipment all of which will create three new jobs.

“When I started out, I had no formal training in the manufacture of guitars,” explained George Lowden.

“In a way, that gave me the confidence to take some risks, innovate and produce an instrument that has a completely unique voicing.

“There are perhaps half a dozen companies in the world that can produce guitars of this quality. We handcraft a product that offers a totally unique tone.

“The support of WhiteRock Capital Partners has been crucial in helping us to expand and reach an even wider audience.

“There is significant room for growth in all of our markets from the Far East, through to Europe and America. Scaling up our output by approximately 50 per cent over the next three years is an important part of delivering that.

“The majority of our processes are not automated and this has helped us to bring on board equipment that complements the traditional skills of our staff,” he said.

The money for Lowden Guitars came from the £50m Growth Loan Fund available to small and medium sized businesses in Northern Ireland, provided by Invest Northern Ireland and private investor, the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC).