The firm has suffered heavy competition from imports

Carpets International - which sells under some of the best known brands in the UK - has a factory near Blackwood, south Wales, which employs 320 people

At the moment all the factories, including the plant at Crumlin will remain open.

Union officials who meet with the receivers at the company's headquarters in West Yorkshire on Friday, remain hopeful.

Peter Booth of the National Organiser of the Transport and General Workers Union, said he was shocked by the announcement of the receivership on Thursday. "Hundreds of jobs across northern England, Wales and Scotland are at risk," he added.

Carpets International produces quality products and its workforce of 1,200 are highly skilled.

The company makes and sells enough carpet to cover 5,000 football pitches in a typical year, but its fortunes have been hit in the past 12 months by the move away from traditional floor coverings as wells as imports.

The Islwyn MP Don Touhig has already contacted the Welsh Development Agency about doing everything possible to ensure that the Crumlin factory remains in business.

The firm - suppliers an number of high street retailers and traders under the Kossett, Wilton Royal and Abingdon brands - has been making carpets for more than 20 years.