A £2 MILLION pound investment is allowing a Kinross-shire company to spin a vastly superior yarn.

Details of a “revolutionary” new cashmere yarn that can knit up to 50% faster than any product on the market was unveiled by Loch Leven’s Todd and Duncan yesterday.

The firm employs 265 people locally and the new development was last night heralded as the “most exciting innovation for years.”

Kinross-shire creations are often seen on the catwalks of Milan, Paris and New York.

Officials last night said it was “too early” to say what impact the development would have on jobs but insisted it was an “extremely positive” move for all involved with the firm.

In trials carried out by the world’s leading knitting machine manufacturer, Shima Seiki, the new high-performance yarn knitted 50% faster, at one metre per second, without compromising quality.

Its closest rival knits at an average speed of 0.65 metres per second.

Yoshihiro Sakuma, managing director of Shima Seiki Europe said, “The results of our trial with Todd and Duncan’s new high-performance yarn are extremely encouraging.”

James McArdle, managing director of Todd and Duncan, said, “The new high performance yarn is testimony to the skill of the workforce and a business strategy of proprietary innovation.”

He added, “We believe it has enormous market potential.”

Todd and Duncan has a heritage stretching back more than 140 years.