A factory in Merthyr Tydfil is celebrating a �1.7m expansion project, which has created 50 new jobs is formally opened by First Minister Rhodri Morgan.

The Mitre textile and furnishing factory supplies products to leading businesses and to the Royal Family.

As well as making furnishings for some of the top schools and hotels in the country, it also produces towels and tea towels for the Queen and bedding for the Queen Mother.

The Mitre factory also produces household furnishings for some of the top homes and establishments in the country.

Among its customers are the swish Gleneagles Hotel, in Scotland, The Savoy in London and top-notch public schools such as Eton and Harrow.

But for staff like Catherine Rogers, the red letter days come when they make sheets out of only the finest Egyptian cotton for the Queen Mother or tea towels for the Queen's household.

The jobs expansion means a boost for workers laid off by textile company Bairdwear, which held contracts with Marks and Spencer.