A Pudsey cloth manufacturer has the competition snookered after snapping up prestigious contracts.

A W Hainsworth and Sons Ltd, based at Spring Valley Mills in Stanningley, was originally set up in 1800 to produce fine wool cloth for military uniforms.

Today the company, which is in the eighth generation of family control, produces a diverse range of textile products for a variety of uses.

One of the firm's six divisions is Hainsworth Cue Sports Cloth which makes cloth for snooker and pool tables.

Material produced by the firm was used in the recent Busan Asian Games 2002, which is the second largest sporting event in the world - after the Olympics.

The company has also set up a new division called Striking Image which will specialise in printed pool cloth.

The move will see the firm make cloth which can be printed with images for use on pool tables.

Hainsworth hopes the move will prove popular with firms wishing to use cloth as a special medium to carry advertising.

Thomas Hainsworth, the firm's managing director, said: "We are committed to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of all activities and processes, in order to provide added value and benefits to our company, to our customers and to our employees."

Hainsworth also makes specialist products for the industrial, laundry and protective fabrics sectors.

Mr Hainsworth continued: "Earlier in the year we lost two major contracts for our English pool club cloth.

"Although this cloth is still recognised as the best in the market, price has become an increasingly important factor in our customer's purchasing decision.

''Over the coming year we need to react to this trend and re-engineer our process to improve efficiency and speed of manufacture so we can be in a better position to compete next year."