The business, which was founded by Joakim Staberg in 2009, has been awarded the Skapa prize for its heavily patented embroidery product that can produce multi-coloured designs using only white thread, by colouring the thread while it is travelling towards the fabric.

Staberg received this year’s award of 500,000 SEK (£42,288) from the Foundation Skapas chairman Minoo Akhtarzand and Swedish innovator Håkan Lans at the Skapa innovation gala, held in Stockholm last Thursday (8 November).

”This year’s prize winner shows great innovation spirit and that the Swedish textile industry is at the forefront,” said Akhtarzand.

Coloreel digital communicator David Borg added: “We believe Coloreel will change the market because with only one thread you can create unlimited possibilities and unlimited colours – you won’t need big thread stocks for embroidery.

“This minimises the handling and the stocks and you can always have the right colour precisely when you need it.

“It’s amazing to be recognised as one of the most innovative companies in Sweden, which is one of the most innovative countries in the world [ranked second according to the 2018 Bloomberg Innovation Index], so it really puts us on the world map.”

Staberg added: “[This] is strong proof that the whole Coloreel team has accomplished something beyond the ordinary.

“We are now in the middle of a strong expansion and are fully focused on bringing our first thread colouring product to the market.”

A device that incorporates Ricoh inkjet technology, the company’s first thread colouring unit has been developed to be used with any industrial embroidery machine. The patented base technology can also be used for sewing, knitting and weaving.

In September Coloreel launched the device at the Avantex textile and fashion trade show in Paris.

Commercially available to order now from the company’s official UK and Ireland distributor AJS, the colouring units will start to be delivered to the first buyers towards the end of Q1 2019.

The European list price is €20,000 (£17,460) and this includes the thread colouring unit, a stand to hang it over an embroidery machine and Coloreel Studio colorisation software.

The Coloreel technology will be demonstrated at exhibitions throughout 2019, including on the AJS stand at Printwear & Promotion Live!, which will take place at Birmingham’s NEC from 20-22 January.