Magill is on board for a Chinese carpet ride

Sam Magill

Sam Magill, the former boss of Feltex, has risen from the ashes and is back in the carpet business with an Asian eye on Australasia.

Magill has been appointed a director of Chinese manufacturer Liyang Kaili Carpet Material.

He said the company was the third-biggest carpet-maker in China and his role was to help build a global strategy.

Magill has set up Phoenix International Investments with former Feltex operations manager John Kokic and a group of Chinese investors, including Kaili, to develop distribution channels in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

"And also we will be investing with Kaili in buying some smaller Chinese [carpet manufacturing] companies which will be integrated in with Kaili," he said.

The private owners of Kaili plan to sell 25 per cent of the equity in the company on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market in September.

"I believe from what I've seen in the last couple of months, they'll be number one in China within the next 12 months," Magill said

Exports to Australasia are also expected to begin in September which will put Magill in direct competition with Feltex.

Magill left Feltex last August after the company slashed its prospectus profit forecast from $23.9 million to $12 million and the share price tumbled.

But he was not ready to retire from the carpet industry that had been his workplace for more than 36 years.

"That's why I put myself up for nomination as a director at the AGM, offered my services to Feltex," he said. "As you know, that's history, the shareholders decided that they didn't want me as a director or the experience that I have in the industry. But obviously there's other people around the world who do see value."

Despite the turmoil that surrounded the end of Magill's days in charge of Feltex, he is still held in high regard by many carpet retailers.

"He had empathy for the industry," said one retailer "Because he knew exactly what it is to make carpet."