1872-2022 : 150 years of textile weaving
In the 1850s, several members of the Gauthier family left the Lyon region to settle in La Forie, and perpetuate their know-how in silk milling.
Why choose the Ambert region? Because there are many water mills, fed by the Dore and its tributaries, allowing the mechanisation and industrialisation of the weaving process.
In 1872, Hippolyte Gauthier bought the “Moulin du haut du bourg”, in Vertolaye, and founded the company. In 1908, his nephew Anatole transferred the business to new premises. The company has not moved since.
The factory used water power to run wooden braiding machines (still in use and the reason for the company’s EPV label). Today, technology has evolved and the workshop contains over 1500 modern braiding machines, from 3 to 73 spindles, to create a complete range of narrow textiles.
In 150 years, the company has developed internationally and today supplies the major ready-to-wear brands. From silk milling to lace and cord weaving, and then to ribbon weaving, the company masters all the skills of the narrow textile industry.
Its current director, Jean-Damien Gauthier, represents the 5th generation of weavers. The company employs about sixty people and offers customised solutions in packaging, clothing and haberdashery, for young designers as well as for historic houses.
The company is now part of the Gauthier Group, which brings together several companies with complementary activities in the Ambert basin, including Promotress (technical braiding) and Atiplast (plastics processing and overmoulding on braid and cord).
With the development of the weaving activity in 2021 and the construction of new premises in the coming years, the company remains a key player in the braiding industry in the Ambert region.
