Lowe Alpine's manufacturing plant in Tullamore, Co Offaly, is to remain the centre for the production of the group's range of fleece clothing, following Lowe's £21 million sterling (£24.7 million) takeover by the British clothing group, William Baird.

The plant in Tullamore, which employs over 260 people, is Lowe's only plant manufacturing its range of fleece clothing.

Lowe Alpine was bought by its senior management, including the Irish management, six years ago in a deal backed by the British venture capital group, Phildrew Ventures, part of Union Bank of Switzerland. That deal valued Lowe at more than £15 million, but, since then, some of the peripheral parts of the business have been sold, with Lowe now shifting its focus from outdoor gear like rucksacks to the fleece clothing manufactured in Tullamore and the distribution of non-Lowe branded sports products.

Lowe has one of the highest-profile brands in the outdoor industry and has successfully developed a range of branded clothing products, including Triplepoint waterproof clothing, Aleutian fleeces and Dryflo "next to the skin" products.

A spokesman for William Baird, which manufactures branded clothing and also supplies Marks & Spencer, said Lowe management would be staying on under the new ownership and that there are no plans for any cost savings or redundancies.

"The management's brief is to continue on as they are and expand the business," the spokesman said.

Baird chief executive Mr David Suddens said: "We have identified the sports and outdoor activity sector of the market as an area of particular opportunity. Lowe Alpine's product range and geographical spread complements our Tenson business, which is strong in Scandinavia and northern Europe."

The acquisition of Lowe is seen by industry analysts as a strategic move to reduce its dependence on the British retail market.

Baird's profits fell from £33.4 million sterling to £30.5 million last year and the company warned that the first half of this year would be hit by the British economic slow-down.

Baird is paying £13 million sterling (£15.3 million) for Lowe and is assuming Lowe's debts of £8 million sterling. In the year to March 1998, Lowe had sales of £33.3 million sterling (£39.2 million), operating profits of £2.9 million sterling (£3.4 million) and pre-tax profits of £1.6 million sterling (£1.9 million).